Chicago ranks as one of most stressed cities in country over safety, education and more

With the city of Chicago ranking as one of the most stressful places to live in the country in a new WalletHub survey, Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller says there’s a good reason why so many area residents feel the malaise that they do.

“J.B. Pritzker has destroyed safety and security in the city,” Miller told The Center Square. “The second thing that I think would be causing people stress is as a parent they're turning the education system into not much more than an indoctrination center for the Radical Left. Then, there’s just the influx of illegal immigrants that are getting the gold card given to them when everybody else is having to pay for the illegal aliens that invaded the city. All those things combined, I can see why people are stressed out there.”

Overall, researchers compared data across 39 different metrics, including average weekly work hours to unemployment rate to divorce and suicide rates, with each of them being graded on a 100-point scale.

“I mean every cost and every quality of life issue has gotten worse under the Biden/Pritzker regime,” Miller added. “The cost of food, the cost of electricity, the cost of gas is doubled. These things are driving businesses out of the city, driving families out of the city and making it almost impossible for them to exist.”

Miller adds he sees just one way forward if the city is to have its best chance of turning things around.

“They need to reduce the tax rate; they need to reduce real estate taxes,” he said. “They need to improve their dealing with the crime problem. They need the schools to be fixed. They’re a lot of things that can be done to help make the city of Chicago better.”

Back in 2019, Miller cosponsored legislation to make Chicago its own state, arguing many of the city’s policies fall far short of aligning with the views of his downstate constituents.

“One of the biggest issues is that we have no representation,” he said. “I think one of the biggest things that trickle down is a disastrous tax base, a disastrous economy, with the tax and spend policies. They have the net effect of what all the hard- working, middle-class families have to pay has doubled and tripled, and at the same time the salaries haven't been keeping up with the inflation we've seen in the marketplace.”

In the WalletHub survey, Cleveland, Ohio ranked as the most stressed state, with New York ranking No. 36 and Los Angeles at No. 42.