Voters in Henderson, McDonough, and Warren counties are being asked whether their county boards should correspond with other counties about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state.
TSPR sought out information about the advisory referendum.
Loret Newlin, Director of the Illinois Separation Referendum, explained why she is promoting the measure.
TSPR also received an analysis from Keith Boeckelman, professor of Political Science at Western Illinois University.
Here is what they had to say:
Loret Newlin
Why I support the Illinois Separation Referendum:
1. I support ISR because the plan first ASKS voters what they want.
The question on the ballot isn't what politicians or experts think of splitting Illinois. The question is do YOU, the voter, want your county to be part of discussions about creating a new state (NOT joining another state).
Being non-binding, the question of “constitutionality” doesn’t exist.
The referendum doesn't force board members to do anything. We hope one or two pro-separation members per board will honor constituents’ wishes if/when the time comes for discussions.
Future steps would look at finances and issues. Depending on ballot outcomes, possible future referendums could include:
(a) Asking if they are satisfied with financial findings and wish to move forward;
(b) Voting on a constitution to which their county delegates contributed;
(c) Ultimately asking if they want a statehood bill submitted to the state legislature and Congress, i.e. U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 3.
Like past state splits, we anticipate many years and referendums before we might have a new state based on geographic lines created by the consent of the people.
2. I support ISR because Downstate people deserve freedom from a Cook County-dominated government.
- All six top elected officials are in Chicago. Cook dominates JCAR and leadership positions of all levels within both House and Senate.
- Cook County legislators make laws that work for them, not for us.
- Many Illinois State laws violate Constitutional rights. (See some in Article IV, Section 4.)
- They are taxing us out of our homes and driving businesses out.
- Those left behind are stuck paying for a state budget that never decreases, only increases.
- The state keeps inventing new taxes. We have “taxation without representation” from gerrymandered maps.
- Our tax dollars often bail out Chicago’s poor fiscal policies and wasteful spending.
- Our Witness Slips on the General Assembly website are counted, announced, and then usually ignored when the vote is taken.
3. I support ISR because it’s the first step in possibly creating a new state with laws that follow the U.S. Constitution and make sense for downstate.
Business-friendly laws would attract businesses and families to either return or locate here.
A new state would restore lost local control.
Journalists write about two different state-split organizations in a single article, often not naming the group doing the referendum. TO CLARIFY: Illinois Separation Referendum DOES NOT ELECT their own senators or representatives from within county committees. NO CONSTITUTION has been written by ISR. ISR is not a "branch" of the other group. At their request, we did try to work together, but it created too much confusion for volunteers. Perhaps we can try on a future step.
Advisory referendums are a constitutionally recognized way for citizens to be heard. whether "for" or "against" the proposal.
Keith Boeckelman
Leaving Illinois may be undesirable for McDonough County’s economy.587 of Western Illinois University’s students (or 16.3 percent) come from Cook County. Would these students enroll in the university, the county’s largest employer, if it was part of another state? More broadly, a study by the Paul Simon Institute found that the Central Illinois region receives $1.87 back for every $1.00 sent to Springfield. By comparison, Cook County gets only 90 cents for every tax dollar. Absent current subsidies from the Northeastern part of the state, the New Illinois would arguably need to cut services or raise taxes, should a split occur. This is particularly true, since the new state may have to take on a substantial portion of Illinois’ current pension debt.
Moreover, it is unlikely that this split will occur. Statewide opinion is against dividing Illinois into two states. A 2020 poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found that 66 percent of Illinois residents polled opposed division, including 54 percent who were strongly opposed. Even downstate voters, who were most supportive of the idea, rejected it by a margin of 51 to 43 percent. The proposed split was also strongly opposed in suburban counties, who are slated to be part of the 101 county new state, suggesting they are unlikely to join. Without the collar counties, and other more urban areas, the new Illinois would be a relatively poor state, on par with places such as Arkansas or Mississippi. Efforts in the state legislature to split the state in two have gone nowhere to date, further suggesting that the idea is not politically viable. Even if the General Assembly were to approve creating a new state, Congress would also have to support it, which is in some doubt. Since the 1990s, similar efforts to break away from or split states have occurred in a number of other venues, including California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Nevada, and Virginia. None have been successful, and the last state to be created from an existing state was West Virginia when it split from Virginia during the Civil War.
In sum, dividing Illinois could have economic and political implications for McDonough County, including Western Illinois University enrollment, and the distribution of state resources and financial obligations.
