Dozens of counties across Illinois are exploring the possibility of forming a new state without Chicago, reflecting growing frustration over the city’s influence in Springfield.
Thirty-three of Illinois’ 102 counties have already held nonbinding referendums on whether to pursue separation from Cook County, home to Chicago. Another 11 counties are scheduled to consider similar measures in the upcoming midterm election.
Illinois Separation, the group leading the referendum effort, says voters in all 33 counties that have considered the question supported exploring the creation of a new state without Cook County.
Most Illinois counties are rural and lean Republican. Residents in those regions have accused Chicago of driving state policy while pointing to the city’s crime rate, Democratic leadership and outsized role in Illinois politics.
Loret Newlin, director of Illinois Separation, told NBC Chicago that many residents believe their concerns are being overlooked.
“We are not taken into consideration when they’re making a lot of the laws that hurt us,” she told the outlet.
Illinois Separation said most counties that have voted to examine a split are located in the southern and less-populated parts of the state.
The effort has not been limited to those areas, however. Referendums have also gained support in Madison County, Illinois’ eighth-most populous county, and in Iroquois County, located roughly 80 miles south of Cook County.
Dozens of Illinois counties have expressed interest in forming a new state without Cook County, home to Chicago. The city is pictured
Illinois is predominantly rural and leans Republican outside its major urban centers, prompting many residents to argue that Chicago wields disproportionate influence over state leadership. An Illinois farm is pictured
Of Illinois’ 102 counties, 33 have voted in favor of referendums examining separation from Cook County, while 11 others are expected to consider similar proposals in November
Newlin said the results challenge the idea that the movement is confined to rural or southern Illinois, arguing that “we are no longer rural only and we are not southern only.”
She added that several of the 11 counties scheduled to vote in November are in western Illinois and extend as far north as Iroquois County. In her view, the broader geographic reach shows the campaign is expanding and building momentum.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has rejected the effort, calling it a “stunt” and insisting that separation is “not going to happen.”
Although Republicans dominate many of Illinois’ counties, those counties have significantly smaller populations than the state’s Democratic-leaning urban areas.
Cook County accounts for nearly 41 percent of Illinois’ total population. The state’s next four most populous counties—all of them bordering Cook County—make up another 22 percent, and each leans Democratic.
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Only 14 Illinois counties voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Even so, 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 U.S. Congress.
Democrats currently hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Illinois legislature.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has called the separation effort 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.
