Should Illinois be separated into two states – Cook County and the rest of the state?
A group called New Illinois thinks so, and voters in seven counties are expected to weigh in on the question this November.
“Shall the Board of ________ County correspond with the boards of other counties of Illinois outside of Cook about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state, and to seek admission to the Union as such, subject to the approval of the people?” will appear on their ballots, according to a post from the Illinois Separation Referendum Facebook page.
Counties where the yes-or-no question will appear are: Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Iroquois, Jersey, Madison and Perry. Axios said it was approved for ballots last week.
At this point, readers may be wondering if it is even possible for a state to split in two. The answer to that is yes, and it has happened four times – the creation of Kentucky in 1792, Tennessee in 1796, Maine in 1820, and West Virginia in 1863 – according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. As you can see, it hasn’t happened in quite some time.
Based on 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, around 41% of Illinois’ population lives in Cook County. More than 2 million of the county’s residents live in Chicago, the third largest city in the nation. Nationally, it is known as a “blue” state, because Illinois has voted for Democratic presidents in every election since 1992.
Axios reported that the movement to split the state in two is driven by down state Republicans.
“They cite the Democrats’ years-long majority in the state's General Assembly and disagree on big issues like reproductive rights, climate change and pandemic lockdowns,” said the outlet. It also said “secession forces are hoping that national Democrats would let the divide happen in exchange for Washington, D.C. or Puerto Rico statehood.”
While a Chicago Sun-Times map of how Illinois counties voted in the 2020 election showed that many were indeed red, Cook wasn’t the only blue county in the state. Nearby counties such as DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will voted blue, and even St. Clair county residents in southern Illinois voted for President Joe Biden.
However, the movement to split the state goes beyond politics, according to New Illinois. It describes itself as a non-partisan group.
“This divide is not between Democrats and Republicans – it is urban vs. rural, small town and suburban. We are two very different places, both culturally and economically,” said the group’s website. “Legislation and policies addressing the needs and best interests of a major urban area like Chicago/Cook County are not necessarily in the best interests of the rest of the state.”
Illinois isn’t the only state where people have considered splitting off into a new state. In California, there have been more than 220 attempts to divide the state, according to the California State Library. These include a 2018 initiative to split it into three states.
Per the Illinois Separation Referendum Facebook, 2024 isn’t the first year the separation question has been on ballots in Illinois and seems like it won’t be the last. In fact, the page said 26 counties have put it on the ballot from 2019 to 2022 and that the next “window of opportunity” is in 2026.
Axios said that some have also suggested redrawing state lines so the southern part of the state could join Missouri rather than creating a new state. According to the outlet, any new state plan would have to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly and then by U.S. Congress.