20% of the Illinois House announced will not run for reelection, many of them are cowardly, corrupt Republicans who voted for a tax hike.

It’s a Huge Stampede for the Door the likes of which Illinois has never seen. They do not want to face voters after passing a huge tax hike.

Thirty state lawmakers in the 100th General Assembly will not be holding their seats in the 101st General Assembly. And that’s not even counting those who might be ousted at the ballot box next year.

The exodus is unlike anything Springfield insiders have ever seen.

In the House, 23 lawmakers will not return to their seats in the 101st General Assembly. That’s nearly a whopping 20 percent of the chamber. The situation is less severe in the Senate, where seven members are certain not to return.

Of the 30 total members of the General Assembly who will not hold on to their seats, three have resigned. Twenty are not running for re-election. Two are House members running for Senate seats. And the remaining five are running for office outside the General Assembly: one for governor, two for lieutenant governor, one for attorney general, and one for a seat on Chicago’s Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (yes, really.)

But the most likely driver is pretty obvious to most Illinoisans: the rage of constituents.

I am not digging into this right now, but I remember in older years, where some politicians would be eligible to get government pensions if they “retired” from their seats as opposed to getting voted out.

Allied Van Lines

Truth in Accounting asks Fleeing or Flocking?

United Van Lines has published an annual interstate migration study for decades. Looking at that study, along with state government financial conditions and related factors, you typically see that states in bad financial shape also tend to have lower trust in state government, and in turn, higher out-migration in recent years.

In addition to states’ migration trends, United Van Lines recently began publishing an analysis of cities. Using a slightly different method, the moving company reported the 10 cities with the highest net in-migration as well as out-migration.

We took a look at those cities to see how they fare in Truth in Accounting’s latest analysis of financial conditions of the nation’s 50 largest cities. Of the 50 largest municipalities, the average Taxpayer Burden calculated for the nine cities with the highest in-migration is one-fourth as high as the average for cities with the highest out-migration. Four of the cities with the highest out-migration rates were New York, Chicago, Boston and San Diego, according to United Van Lines.

Here’s another way to look at it — the average Taxpayer Burden for the six states that have the 10 cities with the highest net out-migration runs five times as high as the average of the Taxpayer Burden for the nine states that are home to the top 10 cities for in-migration.

Illinois, New York and New Jersey account for five of the 10 cities with high net out-migration rates in the United Van Lines study. You can see the lists of the cities United Van Lines ranked here.

We will be releasing an updated report on the finances of the 50 largest cities in the US in January 2018.

Goodbye Illinois, Hello Florida

The Chicago Tribune reported Fed-up Illinois homeowners consider moving: ‘It’s not just the property taxes on my home; it’s all of them’

The day after the Illinois legislature voted to raise the individual income tax rate from 3.75 to 4.95 percent, Northfield-based financial planner Ellen Rogin said she started getting phone calls from clients who are residents of Chicago with second homes in Florida.

The clients, according to Rogin, were saying “I’m worried about Illinois. Should I be moving to Florida?”

Rogin said anyone considering a move has to look at lifestyle, not just taxes.

Chicago certified public accountant Debbie Lessin said that when people consider a move for tax reasons in retirement, they may be missing a crucial element of Illinois’ tax system.

Illinois doesn’t tax retirement income from Social Security, pensions and IRAs, an advantageous provision for retirees living in the state, she said.

The above synopsis is from the Tribune courtesy of Mary Pat Campbell.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock