(The Center Square) – Illinois’ population has been shrinking for years as more people leave the state than arrive. Did the trend continue this past year? Residents will learn Thursday when the latest U.S. Census data on population is released.
Estimates over the past decade show about 400,000 fewer people in Illinois from eight consecutive years of decline.
In the Decennial Census, Illinois lost around 18,000 people. The state lost a seat in the upcoming U.S. Congress because of the population decline. Months later, another survey suggested the Census undercounted Illinois by around 2 percent. This past summer, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said the state is growing.
“I think we’ve gained population,” Durbin said. “The [Chicago] Tribune is going to disagree with me. They’ve got their own editorial policy. But the numbers speak for themselves.”
Durbin said it’s important Illinois show growth.
“It means federal dollars coming back home,” Durbin told The Center Square. “The greater the population, the more federal dollars returned to us. I want to help the taxpayers get their money back.”
Despite Democrats’ appeal for the U.S. Census to revise the state’s population upward, Illinois’ population still declined 1.1% to 12.67 million people.
Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, earlier this year said Illinois is not growing.
“Proof is that, I’ll just talk about my neighborhood, most people that I know have either left for Indiana or have a for sale sign in their front yard, specifically because of the tax consequences that they believe is going to be thrust upon them in the near future,” Durkin told The Center Square in August. “We are shrinking.”
The latest annual population estimate from the U.S. Census is expected Thursday.
The Small Area Income and Poverty estimates report released by the U.S. Census earlier this month showed in 2020, poverty edged upward from 11 percent to 12.1 percent.
