Census shows white flight from Illinois
This Oct. 13, 2015 file photo shows abandoned buildings which dominate downtown in Cairo, Ill. Alexander County, Illinois' southernmost county AP Photo/Seth Perlman File
We've all seen the headlines: “Illinois Exodus” and “Residents Flee.” But it turns out with the 2020 US Census count released this year, Illinois’ population loss was not nearly as bad as many of us had been led to believe. Even though things weren’t as bad as predicted, they’re still not great — Illinois did lose population, while most states gained. And precisely who is leaving Illinois is also an interesting story: it’s mostly white people saying goodbye. Today on the show we dug into why that’s the case with a Governmental Studies research specialist from NIU and the UIC Sociology Department Head.
GUESTS:
Sherrie Taylor
Senior Research Specialist, NIU Center for Governmental Studies
Michael Emerson
Sociology Department Head, University of Illinois Chicago
Prepared for web by Owen Henderson
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