Over the decades, Illinois has been a leader in significant enterprises, but there’s one the state may not relish to be first. For the fifth year in a row, the Land of Lincoln is a top state for people leaving.

Illinois and California tied for the title of states folks want to get out of. That’s according to the annual Moving Migration Report from North American Moving Services, the folks that supply movers and large semi-rigs for people to pack up their belongings and relocate.

It’s a dubious honor for the state, which along with Cali had the greatest percentage of individuals leaving against moving in, according to the company’s 2023 survey. California had the same percentage of outbound moves, 63%; inbound moves amounted to 37%.

Also moving out this summer will be the Pritzker Military Museum & Library currently housed in a downtown Chicago skyscraper. More on that later.

Rounding out the top five states — and following Illinois and the once-Golden State — in outbound moves were Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Washington, the study reported. Those dreary rain-soaked months finally may have caught up with the Evergreen State, which once was a Pacific Northwest destination.

And where were all these outbound folks moving to? North American says South Carolina led the list, followed by Tennessee, North Carolina, Arizona and Florida. Surprisingly, Texas was in the top quintet.

Southern states continue to maintain their desirability for Americans. The moving study says they provide affordable housing, lower taxes and a better quality of life.

Despite the high percentage of outbound people, the population of Illinois has dipped, but not dramatically, by about 30,000 people, according to U.S. Census estimates. That loss, however, is the 10th year in a row the state has seen lower numbers of residents.

The moving study opined that increases in remote and hybrid work in 2023 — an estimated 27% work from home or where free Wi-fi is available — may be contributing factors to outbound moves. Americans can have jobs based in high-tax regions while moving, and toiling remotely, to states with smaller tax burdens. Rising costs of living in cities, too, is a reason moves are taking place, the study found.

Even without remote work, labor markets and the state’s high property taxes also drive people out of Illinois. Lake Countians have become used to companies locating just over the state line in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

Scheduled to join that Dairyland express at the end of July will be the above-mentioned Pritzker Military Museum & Library, now in downtown Chicago across from Millennium Park. If the name sounds familiar, the nonprofit museum was started by a cousin of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Local Public Broadcasting Station outlets weekly air history programs and military discussions emanating from the museum.

ABC7 Chicago reported earlier this month the museum will shut its doors when a current exhibit on the War of 1812 ends its run. Then the facility moves just over the Lake County line to Somers, Wisconsin, in northeast Kenosha County, off Highway E, just east of Interstate 94.

The museum, launched in 2003, currently resides in the 16-story Monroe Building at Monroe Street and Michigan Avenue with artifacts spread over three stories, the station reported. There is also a 4,500-square-foot storage facility in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, where historical pieces have been stored.

Jennifer Pritzker, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard and, like her cousin, a billionaire, founded the museum. The Pritzker Military Archives Center began first to house her collection of more than 5,000 military volumes and items.

With donations, the stockpile grew to some 40,000 artifacts and more than 65,000 book titles. Pritzker, 73, served in the Army beginning in 1974, with the 101st Airborne Division, and retired in 2001.

Some say the red-columned modern facility, the last building designed by noted Chicago architect Helmut Jahn who died in 2021, resembles a World War II landing craft. The nearly 52,000-square-foot Wisconsin location on 280 acres has a gallery of 9,400 square feet for public viewing, along with storage and workplaces for curators and historians, according to its website. Groundbreaking took place in 2020.

The new consolidated site makes it easier for Lake Countians and those in northern Cook County interested in military history and affairs to visit, rather than fighting traffic into Chicago’s Loop. Still, this latest outbound move remains another loss for not only the city, but Illinois.

Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor. 

sellenews@gmail.com

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