The Chicago Tribune reports:
Chicago, the only city among the nation's 20 largest to see population loss in 2015, could be overtaken in a decade by Houston as the third-most-populous city if the trend continues, experts said.No word yet on this story from Barack Obama of Chicago fame.
The city of Chicago lost about 2,890 residents between 2014 and 2015, bringing the city's population down to 2,720,546, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Numbers made available in March showed the greater Chicago area, which includes the city and suburbs and extends into Wisconsin and Indiana, lost an estimated 6,263 residents — the greatest loss of any metropolitan area in the country.
Chicago's population decline is largely a product of residents fleeing both the city and state. The Tribune in March surveyed dozens of former residents who've left within the last five years, and each offered a list of reasons for leaving: high taxes, the state budget stalemate, crime, the unemployment rate and the weather.
Black residents have been among those calling it quits on their hometown. Propelling black flight is the search for safe neighborhoods and prosperity, with many African-Americans heading to the suburbs and warm-weather states. Chicago lost 181,000 black residents between 2000 and 2010, according to census data.
