Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in April.
Photo:
John O’Connor/Associated Press
Illinois Gov.
J.B. Pritzker
has lately been seen in New Hampshire and Florida, spurring hypothesis that he’s eyeing a 2024 presidential bid. Or possibly he’s making an attempt to flee Illinois like so many others have throughout his governorship.
Research outfit Wirepoints notes in a brand new report that Illinois’s actual GDP grew a mere 0.5% between the primary quarters of 2019 and 2022, the primary three years of Mr. Pritzker’s governorship. That’s by far the slowest development within the area. Indiana’s GDP elevated by 6.1%, Iowa’s by 5.2%, and Michigan (3.7%), Kentucky (3.3%) and Missouri (3.1%) lapped it too. Even slow-growing Wisconsin (1.6%) recorded triple the expansion of Illinois.
Mr. Pritzker can’t blame local weather change. Illinois’s lagging GDP is very outstanding given it benefited mightily from rising farm commodity costs. Agricultural GDP in Illinois rose 25.4% throughout the three-year interval, which was greater than in Iowa (21.2%), Missouri (15%), Michigan (11.4%) and Kentucky (0.4%).
Yet excessive taxes, crime and awful colleges are driving residents and companies to different states.
Ken Griffin
lately mentioned he’s shifting his Citadel hedge fund and securities buying and selling agency to Miami from Chicago.
Caterpillar
is replanting its company headquarters in Irving, Texas, and
Boeing
is relocating its head workplace to Arlington, Virginia.
Illinois misplaced $8.5 billion in adjusted gross earnings from out-migration in 2020, or about 1.9% of AGI, rating forty ninth within the nation. The solely state that misplaced a bigger share was New York. Florida gained $23.7 billion and New Hampshire $960 million. Maybe Mr. Pritzker has sojourned to those low-tax states to hit up Democratic donors who’ve decamped from Illinois.
Mr. Pritzker and Democrats have been nervous sufficient about his re-election that they spent greater than $30 million throughout the GOP main to spice up Republican State Sen.
Darren Bailey
who was thought of the weakest candidate within the discipline. But we surprise if Mr. Pritzker actually desires to stay round for a full second time period when the state and Chicago pension liabilities could once more change into a disaster.
Running for President may be a pleasant diversion that spares him from coping with the mess Democrats have product of Illinois.
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Appeared within the July 19, 2022, print version.
