•May 11, 2016•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

A reader asked: “Can Illinois be salvaged?”

I take it he wonders if our state can stem its population out-flow, return to an economic growth rate comparable to that of the nation, and get a handle on our huge state debt and pension albatross.

To this, I think the answer is Yes, but it will take a number of years and concerted effort by leaders of both parties.

If he meant, can Illinois return to the old days of good-paying factory jobs for all who want them, the answer is clearly No. We live in a new world. Such jobs are evaporating, largely because of technology.

I will have to reprise elements from various earlier columns to respond to the reader.

Illinois is at its lowest point in my 74 years. As I pointed out recently, Illinois suffers from decades long net out-migration of its population and persistent slower economic growth than for the nation and, even more worrisome, among our neighboring states as well.

Some of this was maybe to have been expected. The blistering Sunbelt has air conditioning it lacked when I was a tyke, and Illinois always had a larger manufacturing base than most states, so the other states suffered less loss over the years.
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