By ASN News Editorial Desk
CHICAGO URBAN DAILY
CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— The divide between Chicago and downstate Illinois just got louder at the ballot box. Twelve more Illinois counties voted Tuesday to explore splitting from the state — bringing the total to 45 counties that have backed separation measures since 2020.
Every one of the referendums on Tuesday’s ballots passed, along with several township measures in Adams County. The movement has grown steadily: 23 counties in 2020, then a handful more in each election since, and now its biggest single-year jump since that first wave.
Here is what it does not do: nothing changes. These measures are non-binding. They do not redraw any boundary or remove a single community from Illinois. Creating a new state would take approval from the Illinois General Assembly and the U.S. Congress — a long road nobody has walked yet.
Supporters say downstate communities are overlooked by Springfield, and that policies written for Chicago and Cook County come at their expense. Loret Newlin, who is helping lead the Illinois Separation effort, says the goal is an entirely new state — not folding into Indiana, though Indiana lawmakers have said they would talk to counties interested in joining them.
The numbers tell a more complicated story. Research from Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found downstate regions actually receive more state funding than they pay in taxes — about $2.81 for every dollar in Southern Illinois, and $1.87 in Central Illinois. Cook County gets back about 90 cents on the dollar.
Organizers say they will keep putting the question before voters in more counties. The message to Springfield is clear, even if the map stays the same: frustration outside Chicago is not going away.
Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily for more on Illinois politics and what it means for Chicago.
Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.
