Illinois: Land Of Self-Loathing
By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 25, 2014 6:00PM
A new Gallup poll asked 600 residents in all 50 states the slathered-in-state-pride question: Do you feel your home state is the best place in America to live? Either Illinoisans take a realistic perspective to living in the Prairie State or we are the most self-hating individuals in America.
Only 19 percent of Illinoisans who responded to the poll considered the Land of Lincoln a great place to live. Only Rhode Island had a less favorable opinion. Moreover, 25 percent of those Illinoisans believed the state is “the worst possible place to live in.”
Montana and Alaska top the list with 77 percent of respondents believing they live in a goddamn nirvana. Gallup said those two states and the others that ranked high in their poll “have relatively low populations” and "generally boast a greater standard of living, higher trust in state government, and less resentment toward the amount they pay in state taxes."
Or, if you live in Colorado, you’re currently experiencing a secondhand Rocky Mountain High.
Sure, Illinois may have problems besides the amount of taxes we pay, like a one party-dominant political system, corruption and complacency at state and municipal levels of government and crumbling infrastructure. But less than one in five people believe the state is a grand place to live? Come on, look at the bright side. Even Mississippi, which placed third on the worst states list, has something of a rosy outlook. (Kudos to residents of the Magnolia State, though, for recognizing it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.)
Read the full Gallup report here.