{"id":2237785,"date":"2024-05-05T16:10:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T20:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/race-to-the-bottom-the-state-competing-with-california-to-be-the-lefts-progressive-utopia\/"},"modified":"2024-05-05T16:14:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T20:14:00","slug":"race-to-the-bottom-the-state-competing-with-california-to-be-the-lefts-progressive-utopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/race-to-the-bottom-the-state-competing-with-california-to-be-the-lefts-progressive-utopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Competition for Progressive Utopia: State Vying with California"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frace-to-the-bottom-the-state-competing-with-california-to-be-the-lefts-progressive-utopia%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2237785&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A commentary by Samuel Short highlighted \u2064Illinois&#8217; struggles, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-so-many-people-are-fleeing-california-they-may-lose-a-house-seat-and-electoral-college-vote\/\" title=\"REPORT: So Many People Are Fleeing California They May Lose A House Seat And Electoral College Vote\">high taxes<\/a>, population decline, and\u200b pension issues. Despite Gov. Pritzker&#8217;s efforts, \u200cchallenges persist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netflixs-ahistorical-ibram-x-kendi-documentary-is-more-racist-and-radical-than-you-can-imagine\/\" title=\"Netflix's Ibram X. Kendi 'documentary' is extremely racist and radical\">including crime rates<\/a> and job losses. The state \u200bfaces a\u200b complex web of problems, including\u200c illegal immigration concerns and economic growth disparities. Solutions involve prioritizing law enforcement, tax reform, and border security \u200cto avert further\u200b crisis.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/commentary\/\">  Commentary <\/a>   <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/sshort\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/sshort\/%20\"><span>Samuel Short<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   May 5, 2024 at 9:51am <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>When hearing about the woes of blue states, names like California and New York immediately come to mind, but we may need to add a new name to the list of places Democratic officials are ruining: Illinois.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2024\/05\/02\/illinois-economic-woes-pension-debt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Caller<\/a> reported on Thursday that new data indicates the state our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, once called home is in a downward spiral.<\/p>\n<p>While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subway-shrink-smallest-size-years-californias-20-minimum-wage-major-damage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California<\/a> is still leading the nation with the worst <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/web\/laus\/laumstrk.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unemployment rate<\/a> in the country at 5.3 percent, Illionois is not far behind in fifth with 4.8 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The comparisons don\u2019t stop there. With the <a href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/edu\/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden\/20494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">8th highest tax burden<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/they-only-go-after-donald-trump-trump-releases-lengthy-statement-blasting-investigation-against-his-organization\/\" title=\"\u2018They Only Go After Donald Trump\u2019: Trump Releases Lengthy Statement Blasting Investigation Against His Organization\">high crime rates<\/a>, many Illinoisans are opting to simply leave the state for greener pastures \u2014 as Californians have been doing.<\/p>\n<p>Bryce Hill, director of fiscal and economic research at the Illinois Policy Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation, \u201cThe Census Bureau has reported that residents are leaving the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-budget-hole-even-deeper-than-predicted-newsom-says\/\" title=\"California Budget Hole Even Deeper Than Predicted, Newsom Says\">state en masse<\/a> to the tune of hundreds of thousands every single year, so much so that the state\u2019s population has actually been declining for the past 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As of July 2023, Illinois population was 12,549,689. That number was down 32,826 from 2022. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/quickfacts\/fact\/table\/IL\/PST045223?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Census data<\/a> showed this fall has been steady, as the population as of April 1, 2020, was 12,813,469.<\/p>\n<p>Heartland Institute Senior Fellow S.T. Karnick cited a few reasons for this decline. \u201cOpinion polls cite high taxes as the top reason people want to leave Illinois, with crime and safety second. Illinois has the fourth-most regulations among the 50 states, which raises prices and kills jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Violent crime in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-apparently-tries-escape-reporters-refuses-answer-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chicago<\/a> went up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.illinoispolicy.org\/report-chicago-violent-crime-spikes-11-arrests-in-just-11\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">18 percent in 2023 <\/a>compared to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/comic-marc-maron-critics-of-cancel-culture-are-right-wing-propagandists-ushering-in-fascism\/\" title=\"Comic Marc Maron: Critics of Cancel Culture Are 'Right-Wing Propagandists' Ushering In Fascism\">ten years prior<\/a>, with arrests dropping 33 percent over the same time.<\/p>\n<p>Central to Illinois problems is its ballooning pension cost. The state pension debt currently sits at $142.3 billion. Since the 2000 fiscal year, inflation adjusted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.illinoispolicy.org\/reports\/fixing-illinois-pension-crisis-by-amending-nations-most-restrictive-pension-law-is-legal-effective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spending for pensions has gone up 584 percent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Would you live in Illinois?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Illinois adopted a new constitution in 1970. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilga.gov\/commission\/lrb\/con13.htm#:~:text=SECTION%205.,not%20be%20diminished%20or%20impaired.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article XIII, Section 5<\/a> states pension benefits cannot be \u201cdiminished or impaired.\u201d Couple this with <a href=\"https:\/\/ilsrs.illinois.gov\/content\/dam\/soi\/en\/web\/srs\/sers\/resources\/financial-report\/actuarial-sers-1989.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Senate Bill 95<\/a> in 1989, which created a 3 percent compounding benefit increase for retired Illinoisans in the pension system, and you\u2019ve found the root of the problem.<\/p>\n<p>Hill highlighted the damage in declining population and the pension problem saying, \u201cMigrants take over $10 billion worth of income with them out of state when we lose people due to domestic migration,\u201d but included that the pension is draining the budget and \u201ctaking up large sources of revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/democrats-hit-punishment-lawmaker-hosts-drag-queen-story-hour-state-capitol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democratic<\/a> Gov. J.B. Pritzker attempted to take an optimistic view in his State of the State address in February. \u201cWe\u2019ve also grown Illinois\u2019 economy to over $1 trillion. \u2026 We attracted billions of dollars in new business investments and created tens of thousands of new jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Illinois GDP grew 2.3 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2023. This is lower than the national total of 3.4 percent in the same quarter. Numerous businesses have announced downsizing plans in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>While something is clearly amiss, it is amazing how one-size-fits-all the solution is to the catastrophe that plagues blue states.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/segment-california-violent-crime-goes-off-rails-crew-targeted-crooks-broad-daylight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">violent crime<\/a>, and all crime must be dealt with.\u00a0Declining arrests and increasing crime rates make Illinoisans feel unsafe. Blue state policies invoking leniency on crime must end in Illinois.<\/p>\n<p>Ballooning pensions must cease as it creates a burden on the taxpayer. Illinois has become pro-government and anti-business. Government employees retire to an out-of-control pension fund while the taxpayer foots the bill causing job loss.<\/p>\n<p>Why take your business to Illinois when your taxes are going towards paying a bloated government that can\u2019t even keep you safe?<\/p>\n<p>Pritzker admitted in his SOTS address that Illinois is also being burdened by an influx of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/biden-administration-makes-rule-change-give-taxpayer-funded-health-insurance-100000-illegal-immigrants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">illegal immigrants<\/a>. This will certainly burden the taxpayer further.<\/p>\n<p>If your keeping count, that\u2019s three basic solutions to keep Illinois from becoming another one of the left\u2019s progressive utopias.<\/p>\n<p>Illinoisans need law and order, tax cuts, and a secure border.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>I heard a chilling comment the other day: \u201cWe don\u2019t even know if an election will be held in 2024.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>That wasn\u2019t said by a conspiracy theorist or a doomsday prophet. No, former U.S. national security advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said that to the founder of The Western Journal, Floyd Brown.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Gen. Flynn\u2019s warning means that the 2024 election is the most important election for every single living American. If we lose this one to the wealthy elites who hate us, hate God, and hate what America stands for, we can only assume that 248 years of American history and the values we hold dear to our hearts may soon vanish.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The end game is here, and as Benjamin Franklin said, \u201cWe must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>All of this means that <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>without you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, it\u2019s over. We have the platform, the journalists, and the experience to fight back hard, but Big Tech is strangling us through advertising blacklists, shadow bans, and algorithms. Did you know that we\u2019ve been blacklisted by 90% of advertisers? Without direct support from you, our readers, we can\u2019t continue the fight.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Can we count on <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>your support<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>? It may not seem like much, but a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Western Journal Membership<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  can make all the difference in the world because when you support us directly, you cut Big Tech out of the picture. They lose control. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>A monthly Western Journal Membership costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content \u2014 news, commentary, and premium articles. You\u2019ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America\u2019s soul in 2024.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We are literally counting on you because without our members, The Western Journal would cease to exist. Will you <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>join us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  in the fight? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Sincerely,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Josh Manning<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Deputy Managing Editor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Western Journal<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-45824\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/sshort\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-45824\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-45824\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-45824\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>  Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opinion Piece by Samuel Short on May 5, 2024, highlights the challenges faced by blue states like California and New York. Illinois emerges as a new contender in the realm of Democratic governance hurdles. The Daily Caller&#8217;s recent report sheds light on the deteriorating situation in Illinois<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2984,"featured_media":2237786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Illinois.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2237785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Illinois.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2237785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2237785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2237785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2237785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}