Dozens of Illinois counties are exploring the possibility of forming a new state without Chicago, reflecting growing frustration over the city’s influence in state government.
Of Illinois’ 102 counties, 33 have already held nonbinding referendums on separating from Cook County, home to Chicago. Another 11 counties are scheduled to consider similar measures in the upcoming midterm election.
Illinois Separation, the organization leading the effort to bring the issue before voters, says all 33 counties that have held referendums backed exploring the creation of a new state without Cook County.
Most Illinois counties are rural and lean Republican. Residents in those areas have blamed Chicago for the state’s crime rate, Democratic leadership and outsized role in shaping state policy.
Loret Newlin, director of Illinois Separation, told NBC Chicago that many residents feel they have been “ignored.”
“We are not taken into consideration when they’re making a lot of the laws that hurt us,” she told the outlet.
The organization says most counties that have voted to explore separation are in southern Illinois, a less-populated part of the state.
Support has not been limited to the south, however. The referendums have also gained backing in Madison County, the state’s eighth-most populous county, and Iroquois County, located roughly 80 miles south of Cook County.
Dozens of Illinois counties have expressed interest in creating a new state without Cook County, home to Chicago. The city is pictured
Most of Illinois is rural and leans Republican, prompting many residents to argue that Chicago wields too much influence over state leadership. An Illinois farm is pictured
Of Illinois’ 102 counties, 33 have voted in favor of referendums exploring separation from Cook County, while 11 more are set to consider similar measures in November
Newlin said the results show that the movement “is no longer rural only and we are not southern only.”
She added that several of the 11 counties scheduled to vote on separation in November are in western Illinois, with the movement reaching as far north as Iroquois County. In her view, that geographic spread indicates the effort is gaining momentum.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has rejected that assessment. He has called the separation campaign a “stunt” and said it is “not going to happen.”
Although Republicans perform strongly across much of Illinois, those counties have substantially smaller populations than the state’s Democratic-leaning urban centers.
Cook County alone contains nearly 41 percent of Illinois’ population. The next four most populous counties, all of which border Cook County, account for another 22 percent, and each leans Democratic.
Only 14 Illinois counties voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, yet she carried the state by more than 600,000 votes, an 11 percent margin.
Creating a new state without Cook County would require approval from the Illinois legislature, followed by authorization from the US Congress.
Democrats currently hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Illinois legislature.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has dismissed the separation campaign as a “stunt” and said it is “not going to happen”
The vast majority of Illinois’ counties skew Republican, but they are less populated than Democratic urban centers. Illinois’ 2024 presidential election map is pictured
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Should Illinois rural counties be allowed to break away from Chicago’s influence over state politics?
Separation from Cook County certainly appears to be a long shot, but supporters of the idea insist that it is possible.
Illinois Separation has pointed to the creation of West Virginia during the Civil War and the creation of Maine out of Massachusetts in 1820. Both states were formed out of the same Constitutional article that proponents of separation hope to use.
Supporters of creating a new state were also particularly encouraged when Madison County, Illinois’ eighth most populous county, voted in favor of the idea in 2024.
Dave Stopher, who led efforts to get the referendum in front of voters in Madison County, told NPR at the time: ‘I think this movement has a lot more teeth to it than the governor has given it credit for.
‘He’s kind of pooh-poohing us and not taking us very seriously. We’re hoping that this sends a very distinct and clear message to Springfield and to Cook County.’
Illinois previously experienced a mock-secessionist effort in the 1960s and 70s, during which a group of 16 central-western counties said they wanted to create the ‘Republic of Forgottonia.’
The movement aimed to draw attention to infrastructure neglect and public funding shortfalls.
Secession never happened, of course, but the movement drew national attention and created public pressure that contributed to highway improvements and renovations, new bridges and the restoration of Amtrak service in the region.