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When confronted with the state’s negative population trends at
Thursday’s hearing, Pritzker pushed back against U.S. Rep. John
McGuire, R-Virginia.
“Your numbers are wrong, sir,” Pritzker said after McGuire said
the state has lost population and a seat in Congress. “Your
numbers are wrong, sir.”
“Do you support prohibiting illegal aliens from being counted in
the census?,” McGuire asked. “Would you? Those harboring illegal
aliens. Is it part of the strategy to get more Democrats in
Congress?”
Pritzker said Illinois is growing. Illinois state Rep. Brad
Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, was in the audience during the hearing.
“The governor is a population denier,” Halbrook told The Center
Square. “We've lost a congressional seat. Probably going to lose
another 1 or 2 by the time the next Census rolls around.”
Illinois U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, confronted Pritzker
about the state’s population trends during the hearing.
“People continue to flee Illinois,” LaHood said. “We have the
fifth highest unemployment rate in the country, the second
highest property tax rate in the country, the fifth highest
illegal immigration population in the country, with over 500,000
illegal immigrants living in Illinois.”
Pritzker worked to refute LaHood about the trends, but was cut
off.
“Half of that is completely false and needs to be corrected,”
Pritzker said. “And I will if given the moment to speak … Our
population is increasing. We have a higher population as a
result of this Census that was done in 2020.”
Illinois lost population for an entire decade before last year’s
estimates showed more international migrants coming in than
domestic migration moving out.
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