You skipped the quad cities ? 😂 94th largest city 4th in the USA with a drug and alcohol problem and 73% of the countries cities are safer then us .. Peoria is a hour south of us and east Peoria is bad but that city is like a safe zone compared to us smh
What city did you grow up in Nick Johnson?........Seems you are directed the North end of Illinois as potholes........that is understandable, cause of the population and all the urban areas you get more crimes........Decatur and Danville cut it really close to the smaller populations and towns and so the people either move South of Champaign or maybe a small town of 4000 called Casey, IL.. That at one time was pretty good small town but now with most of the North moving South is driving away the Rural folks, cause the Government wants to increase the size of smaller towns and where will that lead? Yes, those from the North try using their Power of the City they once lived on the people in the Rural areas......So why, (of all the absurd reasons), did they leave the Powerful Cities? Anyway, it really doesn't matter.......Our Lord and Savior will be coming soon enough when He knows it is His time to intervene........God bless Illinois and I came back after being in another state for 8 years and I missed my friends and family and lost a lot too while I was trying to live a better life........Doesn't really matter what state you live in, it is out there everywhere!! Stay safe everyone!!
poor people aren’t our problem, and have never been the problem. bad governing, low wages, and no opportunity create the situations that cause poverty and the need for assistance. blaming the lowest common denominator is a gross take.
@@groomersgotohell Yep! They have been brainwashed into thinking that if they don't, they'll lose their government freebies... Very sad situation, but the Dems have them under their thumbs...
I was born and raised in Illinois. Lived in this state my whole life, in the same town to be exact. I have watched the decline of other towns that were beautiful places to live. I have watched our government do absolutely nothing about it, but picking up and leaving doesn't help. This sort of thing only stops when people stay...when they take a stand. I'm not giving up my hometown without a fight. I'm just not built that way.
The problem is, the residents who don't give a damn will kill you while you try, and my family just can't do it. I was born and raised in chicago... I nearly got shot while at the black cowboy picnic in the parking lot before I was gonna head to college. That was the last straw for my family.
Illinois: Where all the Governors do two terms, one in office and the other in prison. Lived there for about 30 years. Humid, corrupt, miserable. Land of Taxes should be the state motto.
Yes it is robbery, but it costs to be the boss...loved Texas hospital slow as hell..merchandise behind Chicago Standards ..u can fry an egg on the sidewalk in the summer🍳southern Texas ""NO GOOD FOOD"" THOUGHT I WOULD EAT REALLY GOOD SPANISH FOOD🍖🌮🥗🌯🍲🍛WAS I FOOLED...most areas are Guatemalans...cooking, working!!!
@Booty Hunter And doubled the Illinois per gallon gas tax, from 19 cents to 38 cents. He did that to give the state workers a raise for helping him get elected.
@Booty Hunter trailer plates went from $18 to $118. 500% increase. Illinois is just the beginning. My city is on this list, and let me tell you, whatever the state is leaving in your wallet, the city is doing it's best to claim the rest. 4 new taxes in 2020.
@@michaelfitzpatrick1241 the truth is that multiple years of corrupt governors and politicians have failed these poor communities and led them to take justice into their own hands leading to gun violence, robbing due to lack of money for basic necessities, “us versus them” mentality, etc…lived here my whole life.
I've lived in Danville for two years, I can agree. I am happy this was made for the right reasons because officials may, just may hear about this or we spread awareness about this so we can make a change. My hopes are very low, close to 0, but it is still there. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this video.
Yeah dude came through my town and didn't even go on top of the hill. He also failed to mention that the neighboring IA town is literally the wild west.
Other than the high taxes and high cost of living, I loved living in Illinois. DuPage and Cook Counties are very culturally diverse; great food; great parks and bike paths; lots of fairs, festivals and entertainment; great streets, sewers, and lighting; so much opportunity. Then I spent a few years in Sangamon County (Spfld) working for the State and saw all the corruption first-hand. When y'all say the state is corrupt, you have no idea how bad it really is. Y'all just see the tip of the iceberg. The corruption is unfathomable. I saw stuff that was so sickening and infuriating, I quit my cozy state job and state benefits and moved to Missouri. Turns out the grass isn't always greener on the other side. The b.s. in Missouri is worse than Illinois. After two years in Missouri, I'm planning to move back to Illinois, or maybe try another state, or another country at this point 🤣
Moved away - moving back - what Covid has taught is that family is everything, you can't hug your family through FaceTime - everywhere has good and bad
I came back too! Chicago people have a great sense of humor. I also missed the food. Be proud Illinois residents! That said, I can’t speak for the rest of the state, I’ve never been 🤣
My cat I adopted is from Kankakee, because of this we named her "Billie" short for hillbilly. the shelter in my town told me they loaded a bunch of strays onto a truck and brought her there. It's funny because out of all our pets she is the only one who refuses to run outside when the door is open, methinks she had a hard life on the streets and enjoys her indoor life.
I found many faults in Illinois and planned on moving from a very young age. I moved to a southern state and now miss Illinois very much. I miss the flat lands, plentiful sidewalks, and change of seasons. The economy in Illinois is healthier than the economy of the state I’m currently residing in as well. While Illinois definitely has its faults, it’s not all bad and certainly not the worst state in the USA.
@@Al-io8yc she said the economy in Illinois is healthier so that makes Florida not it. Florida’s economy has been booming for many years 🤣🤣🤣🤣 and kills Illinois economy
I live in Urbana 30 years now. No problems and love the farming and plot of land we have. No issues with crime and city parks are wonderful here. Im an Indianapolis native of 25 years, so when i visit Indiana : i cant wait to return to Illinois.
Ummm....not true. I also live here. Full of CRIME. Car jackings at EVERY Circle K, shootings constantly. Didn't see the armed robbery at the Indian Restaurant? Daily crime.
@@jenshoaf07 i live down the street.! So, i cant speak for Philo and a commercial gas station. Such as the location ,but only for the fact ive been in the same house down the street over 25 years with not 1 issue ...there is no Indian restaurant in Urbana , so just not sure if your aware of that, it's in Champaign.
@@livingforfree2 Eh, half the people I know tend to lump them together, the radio refering to Cham-bana doesn't help either I imagine only the locals make the Champaigne/Urbana/Savoy distinction correctly
Only the southwest part of the city near the campus is nice old houses attracting rich people with University Tenure Jobs, the rest of the city is rapidly degrading cheap housing attracting the worst from Champaign which is razing their worst neighborhoods and apartment complexes. They want to turn Champaign into something upscale like Ann Arbor and ultimately don't like Urbana as the dumping ground for the poor and prefer Danville and Decatur as their dumping grounds. Southeast Urbana has become quite bad compared to 30 years ago. Urbana has absolutely no development going on, the state has a dearth in General, but in the county nobody is building in Urbana. The Meijer they put up out there 20 years ago was Urbana's last gasp. Urbana keeps electing these horrible liberal school marm types as mayors and a lefty city council though not as bad as Berkeley.
My wife and I were born and raised in Peoria and we moved away the day we married in 1986. For us it was 100% about the economics, but we were tired of the weather too even though we were just 21. By the mid 1980's Peoria had been on a downward economic cycle for almost a decade with little job opportunities across the board. I watched my dad struggle for years to find any work after being laid off as a bank executive during the prolonged Cat strike and subsequent recession of the late 1970's. He was unwilling to leave Peoria and I promised myself I would not limit myself professionally in that way. Though moving away from all family was difficult in some regards, (especially when we started having kids), moving south in the 1980's was the best decision we ever made. My employer brought us to Georgia but I generally notice that employers here welcome you with open arms and there are abundant career opportunities in every direction, quickly appreciating property values, much lower taxation, better weather, 2 hours from the mountains and 4 hours from the coast. Our extended family still lives in Peoria and we try to visit 3-4 times a year. It's not a bad place to be from and if you don't like or are resistant to change, Peoria may be your place to be.
I moved to Texas 12 years ago from Decatur and I 1000% agree with you. Home is always home and flying home for a long weekend is the best. But I'm glad I'm here where it's economically and politically better suited for me. 😊
The states run by socialist Democrats, need I say more? The way Chicago goes, so goes Hellinois.Prickster thinks he's doing a great job, well the moving companies for outbound business is thriving.two thirds of the states weather is described as reasonably shitty,shitty, and damn shitty. The Land of Lincoln,is now a land that's sinkin. It's a place time forgot, but I remember.
All the reasons why I'm leaving the state of Illinois, County of Cook and city of Chicago. Can't wait to leave. I'm planing my escape for 2022. Great videos Nick 👍 You're awesome.
Great video my friend, I was born in Chicago in 1969 and grew up in Joliet, I moved to east Tennessee in 2015 after my dad died, I miss what used to be my home and still struggle with the culture shock here, I'm always missing something that doesn't exist anymore and its hard to feel like im at home in a place i have no history.
I have to agree. No matter how bad your place is, you grew up with it and know the culture. Other places are just other places. Dorothy was right, there is no place like home and no matter how hard you try to adapt to somewhere, it doesn’t work. Besides, how can you replace “DA BEARS”.
I am from Blue Island, IL. When I was little and moved to Illinois, my parents wanted to buy a house so they were actually looking for ones they could afford in Harvey, where my dad still works. But after learning about how bad Harvey was, my dad decided to rent a small apartment in Blue Island. And boy was that the right move
I’ve lived here for 25 yrs. I’ve met some wonderful people. However the state is corrupt and people keep voting for it again and again. We are leaving, I just hope we can sell the house before things get too bad.
80% of Illinois always votes republicans but the big city's make up all the college votes so we keep getting crap like Priz. and other democrats that only focas on Chicago. If Chicago was it's own state like they want it to be, and took all near by city's with it that are highly populated and Chicago effected, than Illinois would do better as far as tax, money and debt. These crime citys though is another issue
I just moved here from California and I love it here. Everything is way cheaper and my house is so much nicer! I came from a town with not even 2000 people in the county and about 500 people in the town. I don't know why people don't like it here.
Southern Illinois has some beautiful landscapes. The garden of the gods is a must see, giant city state park, And some other waterfalls and hiking areas as well, In that area.
There are some nice places left in Illinois the only problem is eventually the taxman will continue raising taxes in areas that want nothing to do with the bad areas of the state.
Lots of new immigrants-in every state- let them improve their home- ( the 🇺🇸 USA-they are the majority.( why wouldn’t they want to?)( most are citizens- right??).
As someone from Illinois and still lives there some parts are bad but some are beautiful. The main issue is wealth divide some suburbs are becoming abandoned while others get filled with wealthy families
I'm from NY born and raised. I moved to IL in 2016 and I got to say, there are beautiful suburban towns better than the ones from NY. Very friendly people out here and honestly I don't plan on going back, I rather move to Spain but it might be the same who knows.
I can back this up.. if you're from Illinois and planning on Moving to New York City? You better think twice. And if you really want to, you better get a real high paying job to move somewhere downtown Brooklyn or somewhere in Manhattan because first of, a lot of places in Brooklyn is just like south side Chicago, Bronx is a war zone, Queens? Same shit.. So, I'm from New York, I'd rather move to Illinois, somewhere like lake county. There a pot beautiful towns there. Do research!
This could be referred to as a shit list. I'm sure with showing these blighted places and no sound, people would think that they are war torn 3rd world countries. Nope, it's good old Hellinois on display. The capital is Springfield in name only, the Windy City runs the state, and it has run it in the ground. The state motto should be, instead of the Land of Lincoln, The Land Everyone is Leavin.
@@xanderharris1104 Kankakee County, Bradley. Lived right across from Bradley Bourbonnais Community High. Hate that town! They took everybody's homes on that street, to build a parking lot. Mom n Dad bought that house in 1953. They came here from Germany in 1951. IT WAS the "House That Built Me". Mom had to move out in her 80s and find a new place. ALL for a GD parking lot for the spoiled little rich kids cars.. Dont know why THEY (BBCHS) couldnt waste there MONEY and build a Damn Parking Garage on Their property, so ppl could LIVE in a HOME they had paid off 30 yrs previous.!!😠😠SO,,, ALL my memories are buried under asphalt. It's Not "Home " to me anymore, when I can't even go "Home"😢😭😢😭. 🏡. Mom just passed away in Sept at 98. She always grieved to go "Home" . IT was NEVER my Moms Problem that the Ppl of Bourbonnais were to CHEAP to build their OWN High School because THEY didn't want the TAXES!! THAT SURE would have alleviated ALOT of Problems. So these ppl VOTED to BOOT my mom out of her home, with NO REAL HELP for her. THAT folks was The End of HER AMERICAN DREAM.🇩🇪🇺🇸😢. I live in FLA now, but always thought that would be my forever home. 2 my daughter's were raised there, and my 4 grandkids who still live in K3. I'm just sad every time I go home, ¿, cuz there is none, for me.
Me too! Illinois helps whom they want. In certain areas it's still segregated. The rents go up $50-$200 every year in Dupage County. Jobs are requiring you to speak another language. It's shitty here. There's alot of fun things to do and alot of spirit here but it's getting harder & harder to make it here.
The only "Karen's" that like living in IL live rent free in Mommy's house, play video games 75% of there time, & proclaim to be socialist justice warriors? CNN said...
I was born and raised in Chicago. I left before my 21st birthday . It was the best decision I've ever made. I still have lots of family there who will never leave. God Bless Chicago 🙏❣️
@@remybutler6473 We'd retired to Florida to get away from the drugs and crime. Who'da thunk we were right in the middle of it. There's drugs and crime everwhere. Just watch your back and hope a mass murderer is not near.
When the first Bush declared "no child left behind " every kid in public school was taught to the lowest level. It's not just Illinois but the entire US.
Once you get outside of Chicago it's all very rural ...& Old school..antique way of thinking... Land That Time forgot..... No jobs no ambition. 7 out of 10 people never leave those small towns.
When my family high tails it out of here, so am I. I'm literally only here for them. Pro tip: avoid Rockford like the plague. I know. I'm the idiot that lives in it.
I was born and raised in Peoria until the age of 14 when my mom moved all of my siblings and I to Daytona Beach 11 years ago. Probably the best thing she could've done for us, Daytona is garbage too but at least the cities surrounding it have potential. I didn't know Peoria was so awful and if we stayed I probably wouldn't be on such a positive and productive life path
I have family that lives in Peoria and try to avoid the place as much as possible. Although, where I live in Galesburg is getting worse by the day. It's like the people here are trying to move up on this list. I hear gunshots regularly and meth is everywhere.
Holy Cow, thats awful. I left Illinois for good in 2012, I have a couple relatives there and in laws, but I dont care to ever go back, even for a visit. My luck the asshole billionaire governor would declare a permanent freeze on people even driving out of Illinois and Id be stuck in that craphole.
I moved to Peoria Illinois from the south west where I lived for much of my life. I love it here! It’s green, there are streams and lakes and the Illinois river and little ponds in this town that was founded in woodland. Every where you drive there are gorgeous trees and grassy fields to see, and I mean in the city. Peoria is still a woodland area. There are gorgeous parks, and nature preserves in and around Peoria. The cost of living is lower than many parts of the country. Housing prices are low compared to many parts of the country. What I paid for a house here, a two-story house with partially completed basement would be little more than a down payment elsewhere. We have seasons unlike in the southwest. The woodlands abandon a riot of cover as the trees change in autumn. In the spring there are that feels of glorious flowers. I can grow fruit trees here that would die in the southwest. My neighbors are all pleasant people, which I could not say and any number of other places I’ve lived in my life in the United States. The healthcare system is excellent here. There are also wonderful places to eat here, including the kind of places you would expect in the heartland of the country. Good old fashion diners that serve things like bisqiuts and sausage gravy, excellent steakhouses, several excellent mini breweries, and foods that I used to eat as a boy that have disappeared in the Southwest. I love the architecture here too. It reminds me a bit of a 1950s town. Zoning is different here. I’m not sure how to explain it but it seems there are more mom and pop shops, an old-fashioned drive-through burger joint, and a generous smattering of Mexican restaurants Chinese, Japanese, and German, which I couldn’t find in the southwest. We have warm days in the summer but not unbearably so. Oh, and did I mention that it’s green? That there are streams and rivers and lakes and ponds here? When the great migration begins in earnest as people move from Florida which is sinking into the ocean, and from the south west where water is becoming scarcer - think the great Salt Lake and lake Meade - people will have a destination. Illinois, and my wonderful city of Peoria. Nick Johnson doesn’t live here. Nick Johnson has never visited here. Nick Johnson doesn’t know Illinois.
Which part of Peoria if you don't mind sir thank you for your reply I'm looking to visit and possibly move there next year any recommendations?I'm looking to buy a house actually.
Housing is low due to people playing loud music, being shot at and drug deals. If the house is cheep your in the wrong part of Peoria. There may be good places to visit but when you have to deal with the crime it is not worth it.
What you don't know about Chicago is a lot. Seriously, you should come and experience who we are and how we are. We are quite friendly and love to show strangers around the non-touristy areas. We're neighborhood people with working class values. We love to picnic in the spacious parks; play softball on saloon leagues and sit on the front porch with a cold one and chat with our neighbors. Come and see!
yes, but this was a bash fest video on Illinois and as a resident? i couldn't have enjoyed it more. Like many other people have stated if it wasn't for family way more people would already be gone and for good reason. The best i can hope for is that one day my grand kids don't have to be born here and continue the hellish cycle. For sure there are lots of folks who love Illinois, and also for good reasons but I think there really is no future here. Politics are ruining this state.
I grew up in Rockford in the 2000’s during the worst economic situation the city has ever seen. Left in 2011, and now it is 2022 and I moved back to Rockford because of how much I missed it and love it. My parents live out of state but want to return…the city has been revitalized and while it has its many problems, every city and state has problems. It is a completely different Rockford than I grew up in, in a good way. The crime honestly isn’t nearly as bad as it was and the people here are wanting there to be change. I love my city and the people of my city.
I don't think you live in Rockford if you do it must be a very special area. There are panhandlers and bums at every stoplight. Shootings or stabbings and robberies everyday maybe you don't watch the news
@@brentanderson3806 I think you just have a negative perception...you do realize that anywhere you go can be like that? Rockford isn't anymore special in that regard than the next town over. Crime is an issue, but it's definitely not as bad as it used to be. I do live in Rockford and not in the best area, so I can tell you, yes, shootings happen near me. All of that stuff does. But it happens everywhere.
Part of the problem is that when Mayor Daley the Junior decided to get room for his failed bid to get the Olympics he decided to do it by scattering the residents of the various public housing developments into the suburbs, thus doing away with the perennial problems of locating scattered site housing, so he sent his minions in the CHA out into towns as far away as Dekalb, and Rockford to locate apartment complexes, and bu lly their managers and owners into renting the CHA large blocks of apartments under threat of federal fair housing lawsuits, then he moved the residents of the projects to the burbs taking their crime problems with.
Actually the problem started in the mid to late 60's when trying to socialy engineer an end to poverty and the ills of the ghettos, the Federal Government and civic activitsts tried to move ghetto dwellers out into better environments thinking that their environment caused the social ills. The Government took over unfinished houses in projects where the contractors were failing and Government loans were involved, selling them at below the market values of the home s arealdy owned in the projects. These sales were made to people without conc e rn to their ability to pay. The civic activists provided the first years costs. The end result people would move in for a year and then be unable to pay the mortgage and be replaced by a new family. The families didn't change and there were few jobs in the immediate areas since the people living their weren't employed in the area and were commuters. What did change was the crime rates which rose drastically. Areas that had experience little crime found major crimes occurring. Harvey and Markham were examples of this ill-advised plan. Instead of integration, the crime drove the original home owners out. They lost money as no one wanted to pay more for the existing homes ewhen the Government controlled ones cost less for the same house. As to crime, my parents left after at least to rapes (one an 80 year old woman) and the bodies of two foster care children were found buries in the crawl space of one these new families (they were still receiving money for them until someone figured out they were gone). The reason for the move was that I had two sisters (1 in grade school and 1 in high school), I was in college. They lost money on the deal which took them some time to recover from. Markham and Harvey today are both much changed, with high welfare and crime rates. They weren't the only suburbs destroyed this way, but two that I am familiar with. As I have said, moving people to effect change doesn't work, they take their behavior and beliefs with them; just as a person infected with a deadly bacteria or virus takes the disease with them when they flee the source of their infection.
Instead of fixing the problem they spread it, like a virus. The Daley Machine was and is so corrupt. I am sure that they are behind the curtains for government to this day.
@@freddycmusic Blame the Democrat Party, after Dailey the Elder died the next two mayors were worse. Dailey the Younger actually was a little better. Straight down hill sense. To make it clear Dailey the Elder knew a dead goose couldn't lay golden eggs, Dailey the Younger was just as much a crook but the goose had already been killed so he just dined on the carcass. Since then, they have been making soup out of the gooses bones and feathers.
@@freddycmusic In my opinion the Dailey machine is dead; if you mean the current version of the Democrat Party machine your dead right. The true Dailey Party machine knewthe city had to be healthy and didn't play social engineer as much as the current ideologues running the current version. By the way, the machine existed before very Dailey in another form, I should know my granduncle was neck deep in it. Why I don't trust the Democrat Party, I know how it was, is and will be run, the only difference is who is at the controls.
I ❤ Chicago. I planned on leaving ASAP when I was growing up because I hated the winters. But I have never found a place that came close to Chicago. To those living in those towns that are listed here...now is the time to reinvent yourselves.
I moved to rockford a year and a half ago. One of the biggest mistakes of my life. For those of you that grew up here and love it...im sorry because this should be a beautiful city. The trees and the seasons are beautiful...theres a river running through it. Thats it. I have never incountered such rudeness anywhere on a consistent everyday basis. Although to be fair, i have experienced the so called midwest niceness in some of the rural towns. Trash and garbage everywhere. Sound of gunshots on the daily. Home invasions, pedos and a serial rapist that they stopped reporting on in the local news. Crazy drivers, as if its chicago and not a town of of less than 200000 ppl.. For the people who live here that i have heard say "yeah its bad everywhere" um yeah....no.... there is a very special black cloud here thats has literally affected the mentality of the community.....its really sad. Anyone sending a child to school here should have their head examined. Its literally worth living in your car for a month if you need to, to get out and move to a city with an acual economy. That is my advice to any young people that live here. Get out while you can, before your stuck!
I lived in Illinois for 35 years and finally got out now living in ohio and I only pay 60 bucks for my license plate sticker lol and seven something for a pack of cigarettes lol
My dad was born in Rockford , left at an orphanage when he was 2 years old by his dad cause his dads new wife said he goes or she goes, so he left his son my dad.
everyone is talking about how illinois is some wasteland poor place outside of chicago, but has anyone seen the natural beauty of illinois? it is awesome in the summer you get that early 2000's feeling in winter you feel more creative and maybe build something if its snowing .so outside of all the political problems,illinois will always be my home
I grew up in Kankakee. My family has been there since the beginning on my French side. Such a shame what has happened to my hometown. It was once a good town to grow up in.
Yep! Saw the writing on the wall in 1991 when Caterpillar started leaving. I knew my children wouldn't have a pray of success if we stayed in "Piss"oria, IL. Got the hell out. Looking back, I've always known without a doubt, it was the best decision of my entire life! 🙌 for me! Do whatever it takes, and pack your family up and leave for higher ground. There are better places to live!
@@xdOreoMilk Um, yes it is. I don't know what rock you have been living under the past 5 years. Californians are the ones to blame for the major housing cost increases for AZ, UT, CO and Nevada. Thanks to these clowns, there are actually waiting lists to even rent a home.
I'm surprised he never mentioned downtown DeKalb, which is probably one of the most ghetto and crime littered cities in Illinois. One day I was passing by NIU (Northern Illinois University) at around 10pm and I witnessed a young adult fling himself in front of a van at near 40mph. I also witnessed an older guy hopped up on something throwing stones and screaming at cars passing by in the middle of the road. The town is unhinged and poor. There's nothing more unsettling than taking a stroll around DeKalb at night.
Dekalb is my hometown and I’ve literally never had an experience like this in the 28 years I’ve been alive. Downtown dekalb is one of the safer parts of the city. The only part that’s “dangerous” is over by campus
@jessicastanbery-mcginnis174 I think you're referring to the branch of Dekalb that has the Egyptian theater and the cookie store. That place is always chill. But I drive through the campus area every day to go to work... I've never felt safe leaving my car around that area. Maybe it isn't so "down town" but I definitely view it as part of it since it's all attached.
Yeah they just increased the gas tax again about two years ago. It’s common for gas to be 0.25 to 0.30 a gal higher than Iowa. The license stickers were $84 about 10 years ago. Got increased to $101. Everybody flipped out. Now they run you $150 per vehicle, per year. Much less than some other states but the income tax is 4.95% which is about average and property taxes are obscene compared to surrounding states. Build a new home just about any location and your property taxes will push if not be, five figures a year. It doesn’t matter if you build out in the middle of nowhere far from the nearest town. Average house in a small town that has nothing to offer property taxes are commonly 3-5k a year.
I live here and almost anyone over the age of 40 tells me and my friends to get out as soon as we can. It's sad really because there is so much I do like about the state but there's no way it's ever getting fixed because of the Chicago machine that controls the whole state.
it's only nice there Chicago because they Steal money from taxpayers in downstate Illinois. To fund that nasty place. It's sad that you get more acknowledgment than the capital Springfield. Which I only live 20 minutes away from a 35 minutes away from Decatur. If it wasn't for us people downstate Chicago would be nothing....
1:20 Kankakee 2:23 Peoria 2:52 Danville 5:10 Decatur 7:00 Chicago Heights 7:29 Ford Heights 8:00 Harvey 8:57 Rockford 10:08 Cairo 11:08 East St. Louis 12:10 Chicago
@@stargotti1527 yes, it is... one area with bad company vs the whole state... I know bc I'm from Missouri & compared to many places, considering cost of living, not much severe weather (depends on the area) & other issues, Missouri is actually a very good place to live.
You might want to add Freeport Illinois on that list it's absolutely one of the worst places to live crime a degradation live well here and the downtown is a ghost town. It's really bad.
Im one of the few people who left illinois and actually came back. At least im in galena, a nice town. Rockfords my hometown though, aint goin back there
Love galena!!! We visit every year in October. I’m in Chicago, Mt. Greenwood are to be exact, but I plan on retiring to Galena when my kids get older! So beautiful and peaceful!
small town Illinois is awesome just the taxes that are horrid. Not to mention the level of corruption. I live in Colombia, South America and as bad as some places here are there are places in the USA ten times as scary. Whole towns abandoned and areas where you can hear gunfire in the afternoon. Here I only hear gunfire when a thief tries to rob someone. Otherwise its really rare to hear it. The taxes here are far less and much more reasonable and the quality of life is at least 20 times better. I hardly ever get sick here. I got sick once a month in Illinois. I think it was called Illinois because as someone else commented, you just feel ill and annoyed. I think the tribes who once lived here, left happily with a curse for the pioneers who forced them out. We are all paying the price. But thankfully you live in a better town. I lived in Crystal Lake. Overcrowded, overtaxed and tickethappy police.
funny, i grew up in chgo and left state to Colorado than came back and have been planning on leaving for Texas and hopefully soon, forgot to mention i live in rockford, i think Illinois is where u insert the preparation H
Glad you mentioned Harvey, where I was born and lived until I was nine. It was a paradise in 1964, where working men could walk to any number of industrial jobs, or at least to the train station, carrying their lunch boxes.
An enterprise can be opened and people can be employed. But the problem is that people have become insolent and lazy, they just want to sit in the office. And there are no those who will work with a shovel for 10 hours. But only a shovel can provide many residents with work. And all sorts of automation and robots - NO !!!!
I was also born in Harvey. Ingalls Memorial Hospital. My father bought a house in Markham and I grew up there. He sold the house and moved to another state in 1973 and never looked back. This has been my home for 45 years. Very little gang activity, very little homeless activity, low crime. Clean streets, nice homes, good employment opportunities. Amazon is building a distribution warehouse in the next town over than will employ 250 people. That is the difference between a blue state and a red one.
@@hurricanecamille8089 Have you ever been to Harvey? Im a paramedic and worked spent years of my life working in Harvey. Its hell on earth. I was assaulted more times than I can count. Was threatened with a gun multiple times. Called racial slurs on a daily basis. Very few shifts went by without hearing gunshots. You dont need fox news to know how bad it is. Terrible attempt at trying to deflect from the truth.
Literally everywhere, all chicago land and downtown is good. Literally the only bad places is south side west side, and near the border of Indiana. I've been to every single ghetto in the Chicago area and yes it's horrible but that isn't the whole state.
@@mattthomas1217you’re tweaking the whole Chicago land and burbs are ghetto. Lotta mfs that grew up tryna be their older brother. A lot of young kids dying from gun violence
Born and grew up in northern Illinois. Iowa Illinois border. My Dad had a good ( management ) factory job with a pension - good benefits etc . . and a side business. Parents divorced when I was 11. And so I had a good 11 years. Then it was basically poverty and a nightmare. As soon as I was 19 or so - I woke up one day - went outside to the grey gloomy COMPLETELY overcast sky - ( that would last for weeks / months straight ) - as well as the bitter cold and the local economy that had nothing to offer and no jobs other than minimum wage - and I asked myself "why do I live here ?" and MOVED to Florida. That was 32 years ago. It was absolutely the best decision I ever made. SUNNY and 82 TODAY ( Feb 2021 ). Have been enjoying the SUN and balmy temps for 32 years.
I'm from the South Chicago Suburbs, I love Illinois!! I recently moved to a suburb of Nashville only for the reason I couldn't find work in Chicago Land (even before COVID). Hoping to one day go back after resume improves. Went to school in Kankakee county, the city has some bad areas but it also has some really great spots. Peoria is very much not worse then Kankakee, it's crazy that it would be above the Kank on this list. Chicago Heights and Ford Heights are both pretty bad, I would say Ford is worse between the two but both bad. Chicago really shouldn't be on a list like this. Chicago has 9 very different areas (77 total communities), and when Chicago is put on list like this it doesn't mean much because of how different they are from each other.
Not really anymore. You used to be able to avoid bad areas. I can’t even take my kids to the museums because of the shootings and car jacking in the immediate area.
Hegewisch has taken a huge dump. I used to live there when i was a kid up until i was 21. Moved about 80 miles south. Much better. Im sure hegewisch was great back in the day but my time there it was always bike getting stolen, even with a bike lock and ending up on Brandon or Burley aves. Working in the liqour store in town saw some of the worst of the worst people. Had some fellas attempting to break into my house. Snd for the record Hegewisch is not a town its a neighborhood of pisshole Chicago. Not that it really matters. Place is still hawt garbage
I grew up in LaSalle /Peru area in a little village called Jonesville ( pop 200 ) near the town of Oglesby ( pop 3500). Starved Rock state park was nearby. I couldn’t wait to move!!! I lived in Peoria too and got my home robbed. I now live in Hawaii :) My dad still lives in Illinois in Morris. I haven’t been back there in over 25 yrs
What was supposed to happen is that all the blacks were supposed to all go out and get phd's in computer engineering, then go to work for 70 hrs/wk earning 35k/yr competing with Chinese and Indians in the tech industry. Who knew that wouldn't happen? I'm mystified. Seriously, one day it won't matter what color your skin is, it'll all be like life on Earth in the Expanse TV show...Hardly anyone has a job because companies use A.I. controlled machines.
Well I'm as white as white can be. Color has nothing to do with rich or poor. My family and I can't afford to move. Don't appreciate making fun of residents who are in need of Link. Check your statistics. The majority of entitled hard working Illinoisan are not qualified for help. Black or white.
I’ve considered leaving Chicago once I’m done with uni but I honestly can’t imagine myself living anywhere else. It’s just home, always has been. Always will be.
I am 54 and have lived on the South Side of Chicago my entire life. Chicago has good and bad areas just like any large city, but I cannot think of any other place within the US that I would want to live. If I were to leave the area, I would probably just leave the country. My neighborhood is an extremely diverse middle class working community. The children ride bikes together, play on sports teams together, and the parents and neighbors all know each other and cheer on the kids. I have never been the victim of a crime. I am a white woman who has spent her life here taking public transportation and who has friends all over the Cook County area. Tomorrow night my husband and I are going to the Chicago Theater to see Neil deGrasse Tyson. Before we go downtown, we will be visiting Ricobene's on 26th street for what has been voted the Best Sandwich in the Universe. I live here for the diversity, the people, the culture, the food, and the beautiful parks and lakefront.
I lived in Rockford when I was able to afford my own place when I was 20. Almost got stabbed by a junkie 2 weeks in, saw meth heads all the time tweaking, and the cops are no better. I was constantly harrases by them even though I never committed crimes. Was more afraid of the police than the junkies. That city is legit fucked.
Doesn’t surprise me one bit, it’s well known that everyday there’s shootings and tension going on in that city. I can only imagine how rough it truly is for someone that’s living there. Grew up 35 min away from Rockford and whenever my family went to Rockford when I was small, we’d only visit the mall. This was back in 2007-2010, I was never allowed to get lost in the mall at any time. Even now as a young adult I just don’t enjoy myself while driving around the city, very unsettling. How long ago was this when you lived there, if you don’t mind me asking?
I left in 93 but came back in 98. The cops definitely suddenly had a harassment mandate. I have stories. One is about 6 of them came to my apartment looking for a stolen pizza. They claimed a pizza guy got robbed on my porch. Umm, yeah right. I knew I had to go. They're going after law abiding black people like it's a sundown town. I left a year later and never went back.
Since I left Illinois, I have no desire to ever go back. I was the first to leave, and the rest of my family left less than a year later. The whole state is sinking and the only way out of their problems is to declare bankruptcy.
Kudos. You and your family did right. I'm a Baby-Boomer and plans to exit. One problem keeping me is home ( not buying again) affordability elsewhere on social security.
I live in Blue Island IL and work for a contractor. Ive worked on 2 houses in Harvey and it always Amazes me that we are supposed to be a 1st world country one of the greatest and yet there are places like this that look like scenes from some apocalyptic movie. Dixmoor and Robin's are some other examples.
