East Central Reporter

Dwight Kay laments that the essence of what the state of Illinois is perceived to represent changed long ago.

“We’ve taken away the middle class because we’ve squeezed every dime out of their pocketbooks,” Kay, a Glen Carbon Republican seeking the House seat in District 112, told the East Central Reporter. “That’s the way many people now see Illinois and that’s why so many people are leaving.”

The latest example of how many now see the state comes in the form of a new IRS study that finds more than 86,000 people left the state at a cost of nearly $5 billion in adjusted gross income over just a 12-month window.

And a recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute survey found that nearly 50 percent of all Illinois residents now want to leave the state, citing taxes as the No. 1 reason.

IRS data also found the cash-strapped state experienced a loss of nearly 42,000 tax returns to other states over 2015-16, equating to an all-time high in lost exemptions.

Researchers noted millennials are leading the charge for greener pastures, with the top 10 states to which Illinois lost population being Florida (12,800 exemptions gained from Illinois on net), Texas (9,400), Indiana (8,200), California (7,600), Arizona (6,400), Wisconsin (6,000), Colorado (4,700), Georgia (4,200), Tennessee (3,600) and North Carolina (2,700).

“With all that, you get the dynamic Illinois is not a stable state government and causes people to spend their hard-earned money to fuel that,” Kay said. “That’s why people are looking elsewhere.”

Kay said stemming that tide is one of the biggest reasons he’s running for the set held by Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) in the 112th House District.

“The cost of corruption needs to be taken out of the equation, and that starts in Springfield with career politicians making decisions for themselves instead of citizens,” Kay said. “You start by downsizing government and reversing taxation. You reduce property tax rates and cap them.”

Kay said neither the direction of the state nor the attitudes of lawmakers will change on their own, and that voters have to be willing to become more involved in installing the kind government they want to have by voting more in mass numbers.

Kay previously served as state representative from 2011 to 2017 for the 112th District, which includes Glen Carbon and parts of Maryville, Edwardsville, Collinsville, Granite City and O'Fallon.