More Illinois counties vote on non-binding measures to leave the state

Mixed · 2Voters in more Illinois counties are due to decide non-binding referendums on separating from Cook County, home to Chicago, to form a new state. 1 2 Mixed · 2Newsweek says the votes fall on 3 November, the midterm election day, and counts 12 counties. Eleven of them are Coles, Gallatin, Hamilton, Henderson, Macoupin, McDonough, Monroe, Piatt, Saline, Warren and Washington, organised by the Illinois Separation Referendum group. The twelfth, Ford County, runs its own separate question. The Independent reports 11 counties. 2 1 Mixed · 2Both outlets say 33 counties have already approved similar measures. If all 11 pass, the Independent says, the total would reach 44 of the state's 102 counties. One of the earlier counties, Iroquois, backed the measure with about 73 percent of the vote, and Madison County, the state's 8th most populous, approved it in 2024. 1 2

Centre · 1The results have no legal force. Newsweek says they are advisory and would indicate whether officials should take further steps. In most counties the question asks the county board to correspond with other counties outside Cook County about forming a new state. Ford County's question instead asks the Illinois General Assembly to pursue legislation and constitutional measures to separate Chicago and Cook County from the rest of the state. 2 Mixed · 2Loret Newlin, director of the Illinois Separation group, says the votes are a first step toward a new state. She says Illinois leadership ignores other parts of the state. Her plan rests on Article IV of the U.S. Constitution, which was used to create West Virginia. It would require approval from the Illinois General Assembly and then from Congress. 1 2 Mixed · 2Supporters, many from rural counties, say Chicago has disproportionate influence over state governance. Their complaints include taxes and fees, gun restrictions such as the FOID card, state debt, pension obligations and immigration spending. The Independent adds that Cook County has been criticised for crime, cost of living and Democratic leadership. 2 1

Centre · 1Republican state Rep. Brad Halbrook, whose home county of Shelby is holding a referendum, told Newsweek that a yes vote would be another step in building momentum. He blamed Gov. Pritzker's fiscal policies for people leaving the state and called the governor's response to separatists "incredibly dismissive". 2 Mixed · 2Pritzker has opposed the referendums. The Independent says he has called the movement a "stunt". Newsweek quotes him saying the idea that one place in Illinois wants to kick out another should not be on the ballot. He has also said that those who want to leave should "get up and move", and he has pointed to state-funded projects in Madison County. Cook County accounted for roughly 40 percent of state individual income tax in 2023, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue. 1 2 Mixed · 2Dave Stopher, who helped bring the measure to Madison County voters, said the movement has "a lot more teeth" than the governor credits. Newsweek notes that about 40,000 people left Illinois for other states in the year to July 2025 per Census Bureau estimates, which do not show why they moved, and that the state's population still grew by 16,000. 1 2

Centre · 1Newsweek said it contacted the Illinois Separation Referendum group and the offices of Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for comment. 2