Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston has announced a legislative proposal to incorporate 33 Illinois counties that have expressed a desire to secede from their state.
This initiative comes after these counties, frustrated with the political dominance of Chicago and Cook County, voted in favor of exploring separation.
A total of 33 counties in Illinois have passed non-binding referendums expressing interest in seceding from the state. These counties are primarily located in central and southern Illinois.
The movement began in 2020, with several counties holding referendums each election cycle. In the November 2024 elections, seven additional counties—Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Iroquois, Jersey, Madison, and Perry—voted in favor of exploring separation from Illinois.
The complete list of the 33 counties that have voted to explore secession includes:
Bond
Brown
Calhoun
Christian
Clark
Clay
Clinton
Crawford
Cumberland
Edgar
Edwards
Effingham
Fayette
Greene
Hancock
Hardin
Iroquois
Jasper
Jefferson
Jersey
Johnson
Lawrence
Madison
Marion
Massac
Moultrie
Perry
Pope
Richland
Shelby
Wabash
Wayne
White
Credit: Ray Hanania Substack
Washington Times reported:
Several Illinois counties are pursuing a peaceful split from Cook County (home to Chicago) through a nonbinding referendum that has gained significant traction. The Illinois Separation Referendum has passed in all 33 counties where it has appeared on the ballot, representing nearly one-third of the state’s 102 counties.
Two main groups are leading these efforts: Illinois Separation and New Illinois. Both organizations aim to create a new state separate from Cook County, though they emphasize this is not secession from the United States. Illinois Separation focuses on passing ballot measures, while New Illinois concentrates on building infrastructure and has established 33 committees representing 43 counties.
The movement stems from rural residents feeling disenfranchised by Cook County’s Democratic representatives, who control the state legislature and advance policies that often conflict with downstate Illinois’s more conservative values. While Illinois appears blue on election maps, supporters argue it’s actually a red state with concentrated pockets of blue in high-population areas.
In response to these developments, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston introduced House Bill 1008 in January 2025.
This bill proposes the creation of an “Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission” to consider incorporating the secessionist Illinois counties into Indiana.
For such a transition to occur, both the Indiana and Illinois legislatures, as well as the U.S. Congress, would need to approve the boundary adjustment.
“We just think this is a great opportunity for people that are interested in Illinois that want to secede, but we say, ‘join us.’ Low taxes, low regulatory environment, a ton of economic development already taking place,” said Houston during an interview. “We’re kinda raising our hand to say ‘hey don’t start a 51st state, we’d love to have you in Indiana.’”
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