Editorial: Indiana stunt has no legs, but we can't forget downstate secession votes

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune on Jan 21, 2025

Published in Op Eds

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Seven Illinois counties voted in November 2024 to explore seceding from the state of Illinois. Now, Indiana lawmakers want to capitalize on their dissatisfaction. Indiana’s House speaker, Republican Todd Huston, wants to adopt those counties and others whose residents are unhappy with Illinois politics, a move that would mean redrawing state lines.

To say this is a stretch is an understatement. Border disputes among states are extremely rare, and any changes to state lines would require not only approval from the Indiana legislature, but also the Illinois legislature and Congress, per Supreme Court precedent.

Perhaps we should settle this dispute on the basketball court, where the Illini just crushed the Hoosiers, 94-69. Obviously not, but that’s the level of seriousness we’re dealing with here. Sensible people in Indiana see this for what it is — far-fetched. “It’s unclear what the political appetite for that would be,” Indianapolis Star reporters wrote of the Republican-led bill. Both House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Gov. JB Pritzker are a “no,” meaning this is going absolutely nowhere.

But cracks in Illinois’ foundation are what led Hoosier lawmakers to make their play. Indiana Republicans were no doubt encouraged by results from the November 2024 election, and the counties that overwhelmingly supported nonbinding referendums to explore seceding from the state of Illinois to form a new state of their own. In six of those counties, nearly three-fourths of voters supported secession. Those counties were Iroquois (73% yes); Calhoun (77% yes); Clinton (73% yes); Green (74% yes); Jersey (76% yes); Madison (57% yes); and Perry (72% yes), according to reports from NBC 5 Chicago. Not all of these counties are along the Indiana border — Madison County, for example, is in the Metro East, next door to St. Louis.

Laughing off Indiana’s preposterous proposition is one thing, but forgetting this recent display of downstate dissatisfaction would be a disservice to Illinoisans who clearly feel forgotten by those in power. Many downstaters feel frustrated that the Chicago metro area, as Illinois’ population and economic powerhouse, dominates state politics.

While the relationship between Chicago and downstate is often tense, we need each other, and can’t forget our neighbors to the south. The threat of secession is far-flung, but the concerns underlying those threats are real and should be considered. All of Illinois would be better served by working together.

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