Congressman LaHood hopes Illinois losing congressional seat is a ‘wake-up call’

Posted on May 6, 2021
Darin LaHood
Central Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap). (WJBC file photo)

By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois will lose a seat in Congress after the U.S. Census Bureau’s recent population data shows a decline in the number of residents.

Speaking with WJBC’s Scott Miller, Central Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap) said the announcement from the Census Bureau is ‘not surprising.’

“Well, it’s unfortunate that we continue to lose population in Illinois. So, it’s unfortunate, but it shouldn’t be surprising; Illinois losing a Congressional seat because we’ve lost population the last 10-years.”

Illinois joins Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and California to lose seats in the upcoming midterm election. However, states like Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon each gained a seat, while Texas gained two seats.

“They’ve (states that have gained seats) gained population, but they also have a different model when it comes to their state. They have low taxes; they have balanced budgets, they don’t have pension problems with their state pension system. Most of the states have term limits too on their state legislatures. Illinois, unfortunately, continues to go the opposite direction, and people are leaving with their feet.

They’re leaving Illinois lost a seat, Michigan lost a seat, California, New York all states that are run by Democrats that are blue states. I hope it’s a wake-up call for folks in Illinois; we can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So, it’s unfortunate because that means we are going to lose one congressional seat in Illinois in this next congressional election.”

LISTEN: Congressman Darin LaHood spoke with WJBC’s Scott Miller. 

Last week, Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos announced her intentions not to seek reelection in 2022.

Illinois, who also lost a seat after the 2010 Census, will now have 17 seats in Congress.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

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