•February 7, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

Sky cranes ought to be the state bird of Texas, based on my second extended visit to the Lone Star state in the past three years. I am in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area, which at 7.4 million residents rivals metro-Chicago.

Texas has grown 13 percent since 2010, top among the 50 states; Illinois registered a minus 0.22 percent in the same period, 48th in the nation.

The two states have different collective personalities. Texans tend to be individualists on steroids. Illinois overall is sure not communitarian, yet it has always provided a better safety net for its citizens than does Texas.

The Texas Way is heavy on swagger. “Come down here, hustle and make money. Texas makes it easy for you.”     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.