Cook County, Chicago Suffer Steep Population Drops

by Brian Costin Cook County and the city of Chicago both share a dubious distinction: Both are in the top 10 most populous counties and cities in the U.S., and both are the only city and county in the top 10 to drop in population, according U.S. Census numbers released Thursday. See the Chicago Tribune story....

by Brian Costin

Cook County and the city of Chicago both share a dubious distinction: Both are in the top 10 most populous counties and cities in the U.S., and both are the only city and county in the top 10 to drop in population, according U.S. Census numbers released Thursday. See the Chicago Tribune story.

Chicago was the only one among the top 10 cities in 2010 to have lost population over the previous decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Likewise, Cook County, the nation’s second most populous county after Los Angeles, is the only one of 2010’s 10 largest counties to have lost population since the 2000 census. Chicago lost about 200,000 residents in the past 10 years and Cook County was down by 182,000.

Here’s a tool from Forbes magazine that was used to create the picture above, illustrating the population migration from Cook County.

Policies matter a great deal when it comes to economic opportunity and population growth. These numbers strongly suggest that public policies in Chicago and Cook County aren’t working. Similar problems exist on the state level, too, with Illinois losing a congressional seat. Policy changes need to be made.

In fall 2010, we traveled all across the state – including to Cook County and Chicago – to present ourIllinois Turnaround Plan. While this plan was focused on the state of Illinois, the principles can be equally applied to Cook County and the city of Chicago.

To turn around Cook County and Chicago, here are three questions we recommend legislators  keep in mind when deciding on all public policy:

1. Will this policy proposal reduce the burden on taxpayers?
2. Will this policy proposal stop unsustainable growth in government spending?
3. Will this policy proposal make Illinois (or in this case Cook County and Chicago) No. 1 in job creation and increase household incomes?

Indications are that under the new direction of Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County is getting the message and taking steps to turn the county around. So far, she has lead the charge to cut spending and reduce the tax burden on taxpayers.

Here’s hoping that Mayor Rham Emanuel and the Chicago City Council start taking these steps, too.