May 30, 2017

Chicago’s Great Population Purge

What happens when gang violence, high homicide rates and statism mix? You get a great population exodus.

New statistics reveal more of the troubling blowback of liberal policies in Chicago, where gang violence, high homicide rates and statism have long been a problem. Yet again, the city’s population has dwindled, according to the Chicago Tribune. “It’s the city’s third consecutive year of population loss,” the Tribune reports. “Chicago’s population fell by 8,638 residents between 2015 and 2016, to 2,704,958. The year before, it declined by 4,934.” Even more noteworthy, of the U.S.‘s 20 largest cities, Chicago stands alone in this category — the 19 other cities saw population gains last year.


The Tribune subtlety tries to soften the blow by noting, “Chicago’s population drop is part of a larger pattern of slowed urban growth in 2016. The country’s top cities did not see the same surge as in previous years, experts say.” Fair enough. But those cities didn’t see losses, either. And given Chicago’s considerable homicide hazard — the number of murders this year is approaching 250 — the rational inference is that gang violence is the primary reason for the population migration. But there are other causes, too. The purge isn’t confined to just Chicago — the state lost a union-leading 37,508 people residents last year. This implies that in addition to gang violence, the tentacles of statism are also helping drive out Illinois residents. The fact that other blue states are experiencing a similar exodus bolsters that case.

The Tribune affirms this theory later in the article, stating: “By most estimates, Chicago’s population will continue to decline. Over the past year, the Tribune surveyed dozens of former residents who said they have packed their bags for a variety of reasons: high taxes, the state budget stalemate, crime, the unemployment rate and weather. Black residents have been among those leaving in search of safe neighborhoods and prosperity, with many heading to the suburbs and warm-weather states. Chicago lost 181,000 black residents between 2000 and 2010, according to census data.” That’s a remarkable statistic because black-on-black crime is one of the driving forces behind the city’s high homicide rate. It would seem tens of thousands of blacks are discovering that liberal policies aren’t the cure.

A quick aside: According to the Census Bureau, “Ten of the 15 fastest-growing large cities were located across the South in 2016,” to which the Tribune surmises: “Chicagoans are likely to continue heading to those warmer states.” And here we thought global warming was driving people out of the South!

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.