Map shows historical decline of county populations, with about a third peaking between 1870 and 1900
Wednesday, Sep 11, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller * This map is from a PowerPoint displayed at a recent faculty Senate meeting at Western Illinois University. Click the pic for a larger image… The full document is here. Discuss.
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- Thomas Paine - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:11 pm:
You cannot ignore the impact of higher education jobs when you see all of those green counties with universities as islands of dark green in a sea of orange and red.
- TJ - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:14 pm:
Suburbs of major cities and college towns, I take it, represent the places where folks are more interested in living than others, to no real surprise.
- Incandenza - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:17 pm:
From the Power Point: “Illinois should be a net importer of students”
This is possibly the best observation, and can only happen if Illinois puts more money into it’s other systems like Western, Southern, Northern and Eastern. Those systems are close to other states and COULD be capturing students from our Republican-led neighboring states. IL just needs to give those schools a little extra cushion of funding to do so. Right now over 50% of the funding goes to the UofI system.
- Retired SURS Employee - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:23 pm:
That is a fascinating map. It so much about past and current population trends.
- Chicagonk - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:26 pm:
@Incandenza - It would be smarter to focus on two of the four (Southern and Northern). There really needs to be some fresh thinking and creativity in this state when it comes to higher ed.
- up2now - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:35 pm:
I think the map also reflects declines in coal mining and oil production in the southern and southeastern areas of the state.
- TJ - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:37 pm:
Also, special shoutout to Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana being the co-main economic drivers for Central Illinois. McLean and Champaign Counties have yet to peak.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:39 pm:
recent conservative complaining that there are too many governments in Illinois. Hope this map reminds that there are so many counties and wonder if we really need that to be the way we govern.
- Proud Papa Bear - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:41 pm:
“ I think the map also reflects declines in coal mining and oil production in the southern and southeastern areas of the state.”
True and another factor is that we used to have many family farms that needed big families for manual labor.
Nowadays, a lot of farms have been condensed and/or corporatized with automation. There’s just not a need for as many workers so they’ve migrated to where the jobs are.
- Macon Bakin - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:45 pm:
Washington county is about to hit a new record population with just a bit of metro east sprawl
- Res Melius - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 12:56 pm:
Map also demonstrates the impact of relative change in the freight and transportation corridors from water to rail to highway.
- City Zen - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:07 pm:
From the doc: “Illinois should be a net importer of students”
Good luck with that. Both IL and NJ have been the biggest exporters of higher ed students for years. Illinois is surrounded by top notch Big10 schools more than happy to poach our kids. Now SEC schools are luring them as well. Tennessee or Alabama look better on a resume that ISU.
Our high property taxes are a huge detriment to the directional schools as parents spending a couple hundred thousand dollars over the years want some prestige behind their education investment that E/W/N/SIU can never offer.
It also didn’t help that UIUC spent a few decades shooing away their own residents for more lucrative offshore students. Now they’re left with a dispassionate alumni base. And when Big10 grads from other states take up residence here, their allegiance lies with their alma mater, not UofI.
- Socially DIstant watcher - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:18 pm:
Secessionists are doing best in counties that are shrinking the most. Actually leaving would be disastrous for them.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:24 pm:
Those red areas not coincidentally are where a lot of the tin foil hard right elderly white guys live. The demographic shifts beneath their feet, they explain away as liberal politics.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:24 pm:
=Tennessee or Alabama look better on a resume that ISU.=
Evidence?
Also, it does not cost a “couple hundred thousand dollars” to send a child to ISU/NIU/SIU/SIUE/EIU/WIU.
- BCOSEC - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:29 pm:
up2now is correct IMO. However, there are some rural counties “in the green” that aren’t near cities or contain college towns. What do they have going for them?
Also, if we dig deeper, some of the ones that peaked over 100 years ago haven’t lost a lot of population on the whole, while others have.
- Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:30 pm:
===It also didn’t help that UIUC spent a few decades shooing away their own residents for more lucrative offshore students.===
Under Blago that was the unstated policy. Offshore students could be charged MORE than they cost, making them a “profit center” … .
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:44 pm:
===What do they have going for them?===
Access to transportation and medical centers?
- Amalia - Wednesday, Sep 11, 24 @ 1:59 pm:
SEC schools luring with free education.