Jeff Keicher a Sycamore Republican vying for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Robert Pritchard (R-Hinckley), took to Facebook to express his hope for Illinois, urging constituents to stay in the state.
“Since announcing my run for office, I’ve asked my audiences how many have had serious discussions or made plans to leave Illinois,” Keicher wrote on his Facebook page. “I have not had less than 30 percent say they are leaving.”
Keicher, a small business owner, was referring to a recent Illinois Policy article that reported Illinois lost more than 86,000 people to other states in 2015-16. That amount of people leaving the state resulted in a loss of $4.75 billion in adjusted gross income, the report noted.
“Illinois is an amazing place!” Keicher said. “We have so much potential for amazing success and it breaks my heart to have so many flee. There’s hard work to do but please join with me to reverse the flow."
Some of Keicher’s supporters responded to his Facebook post about their friends and family members leaving Illinois for better opportunities. “One of my good friends moved his small business from Grant Park (Illinois) to Lowell, Indiana, in August,” Facebook user Jim MacMurdo said.
Keicher is running in the 70th House District that covers portions of DeKalb, Boone and Kane counties.
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