Pritzker's Illinois Loses $6 Billion As Residents Flee — WA State Is Next

Illinois just lost $6 billion in adjusted gross income as residents voted with their feet — and the state's political class still hasn't figured out why. Under Governor Pritzker, Illinois has delivered nearly every policy that Washington Democrats are now promising: progressive income taxes, expanded public spending, and a regulatory environment that treats businesses as a problem to be managed. The result is a fiscal bleeding that can't be cauterized without reversing the politics that caused it.Washington State is tracking the same arc. The wealth tax push, the capital gains surcharge, and the steady drumbeat of "make the rich pay" rhetoric are identical to the playbook Pritzker ran before Illinois became a cautionary spreadsheet. The people most capable of leaving are always the first ones out — and they don't send a forwarding address to the tax authority.Sean breaks down where Illinois stands, who's actually leaving and why, and what the numbers say about Washington's near-term trajectory if Olympia keeps borrowing from Springfield's disaster playbook.CHAPTERS0:00 Illinois' Loses $6 Billion as…2:30 Illinois $6 Billion Warning for…3:48 Mayor Wilson Waves Goodbye to…5:26 Starbucks Cuts 252 Jobs, Expands in…6:39 Former Governor Warns Democrats on Taxes7:37 Seattle's New Public Toilet Gamble9:17 Luxury Listings Surge After Tax Proposal10:35 Man Falls Through Ballard Gym Ceiling11:33 Washington Following Illinois Into…12:51 Downtown Seattle 36% Vacant13:51 What Tennessee Has That Washington…15:04 World Cup Will Spotlight Seattle's…

You can listen to Pritzker's Illinois Loses $6 Billion As Residents Flee — WA State Is Next online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Pritzker's Illinois Loses $6 Billion As Residents Flee — WA State Is Next is an episode from News For Reasonable People by Sean Reynolds.

This episode is 00:15:35 long.

This episode was published on May 25, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from News For Reasonable People when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.