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Last election, seven Illinois counties joined more than 20
others to greenlight a proposal to explore splitting from the
state. Madison County in the Metro East became the first
nonrural county to pass the referendum.
As part of their 2025 agenda, Indiana GOP lawmakers led by House
Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, introduced a bill in the Indiana
legislature that would create the Indiana-Illinois Boundary
Adjustment Commission. The commission would study whether to
recommend absorption of Illinois counties that want to secede.
“To all of our neighbors to the west, we hear your frustrations
and invite you to join us in low-cost, low-tax Indiana,” Huston
told WISH-TV.
Huston added that the bill was not trying to stir trouble but
address the concerns of Illinois residents.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has criticized the succession votes, saying
separating from Illinois shouldn’t even be a discussion, and
isn’t taking the Indiana legislation seriously.
“It’s a stunt and it’s not going to happen but I’ll just say
that Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers,
does not provide health care for people when they’re in need,”
Pritzker said at an unrelated event this week. “I don't think
it’s very attractive for anyone in Illinois.”
Last year, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul wrote
non-home-rule counties in Illinois, which is every country
except Cook County, do not have the power to secede. He also
held that the state’s Election Code does not contain provisions
allowing counties the power to hold binding referendums on
whether they can secede from Illinois.
As the state continues to see Illinoisans move to other states,
it is no secret that many Illinoisans have crossed over the
border and moved to Indiana for various reasons, most notably
for lower taxes. |
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