An initiative to explore the possibility of separating from Illinois and creating a new state is gaining momentum. In the midterm elections on Nov. 3, another 11 Illinois counties will vote in a nonbinding referendum.
According to the group Illinois Separation, which is behind efforts to put questions about separating from Cook County on the ballot, 33 counties have already held such a referendum, and the result was positive in every case. In the November election, similar questions will appear on ballots in another 11 counties, as well as in several townships in Adams County, in western Illinois. Under the state constitution, the Illinois General Assembly would have to approve individual counties’ separation from the state, and the U.S. Congress would have to approve the creation of a new state.
Loret Newlin, director of Illinois Separation, which helped put the secession referendum question on ballots in dozens of counties, explains that the group’s goals stem from the belief of the people it represents that state officials do not take their concerns into account. “That is our reality. We are ignored. No one considers our opinion when laws that hurt us are made,” Newlin says. Among the counties holding a secession referendum in this year’s election are Piatt County (directly west of Champaign County) and Coles County (just south of Champaign County).
Henderson, McDonough and Warren counties will also hold a vote, and they border counties such as Brown and Hancock, which previously backed the idea. Referendums will also be held in Macoupin, Monroe and Washington counties in southwestern Illinois, as well as in Hamilton, Saline and Gallatin counties in southern Illinois. A similar advisory referendum will also be held in Ford County, but, according to Newlin, that effort is not connected to the Illinois secession movement. The county closest to Chicago is Iroquois County, just south of Kankakee County, which also held a secession vote. A majority of voters there (73%) supported considering such a possibility.
Under the constitution, the Illinois General Assembly would have to approve individual counties’ separation from the state, and the U.S. Congress would have to approve the creation of a new state. Obtaining such approval from the current authorities in Springfield appears unlikely. A spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker has previously called the secession efforts a “political stunt” and said that “it will not happen.” Even so, groups such as Illinois Separation point to historical examples of new states being successfully created.
Among them, they cite the creation of West Virginia in 1863 and the process that led to Maine being split off from the territory of Massachusetts in 1820. In that case, a series of referendums was held, and the creation of Maine was ultimately made possible by the so-called Missouri Compromise of 1820. If the votes in all 11 counties succeed in November, the total number of Illinois counties that have approved a separation referendum will rise to 44 (out of 102 counties in the state). Newlin adds that representatives of several counties near Chicago have already asked about the procedure for putting such questions to residents’ votes in the future.
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Source: Polski.FM
