Downstate counties to vote Tuesday on advisory questions about separating from Cook County

Voters in several Illinois counties will find a non-binding referendum on their ballots in Tuesday’s election asking whether their counties should explore separating from Cook County to form a new state.^{1, 2} FOX 32 Chicago reported that 11 counties will vote on the question Nov. 3.¹

The measures are organized by a group called Illinois Separation Referendum, according to FOX 32.¹ In July, NBC Chicago reported that 33 counties had already voted on similar referendums between 2020 and 2024 and that all 33 approved them by wide margins.²

Which counties

NBC Chicago reported in July that Coles, Macoupin and Henderson county boards had placed the measure on the November ballot, and that Monroe, Hamilton, Saline and Gallatin counties would also vote on it, according to the group.² Washington County officials were also considering it at the time.² Henderson County, in western Illinois, was part of the 1960s “Forgottonia” movement, which sought to separate western Illinois from the rest of the state over infrastructure, NBC reported.²

The question asks whether the county board shall “correspond with the boards of the other counties of Illinois outside of Cook County about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state, and to seek admission to the union as such, subject to the approval of the people,” according to the language NBC published for Henderson County.²

What supporters say

“Well, the state legislature tends to not take us into consideration when they’re making their laws,” Loret Newlin, director of Illinois Separation Referendum, told FOX 32.¹ “And so many times what works well for Cook County, and particularly Chicago, is really detrimental to the rest of the state.”¹

Newlin said the goal is an entirely new state, not joining an existing one, according to FOX 32.¹ Even if the vote fails, she said, “at least the state legislature will know that there is a significant part of Illinois that is not happy campers.”¹

What opponents and skeptics say

A spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker has called the movement a “stunt” that is “not going to happen,” FOX 32 reported, citing Fox News.¹

Kenneth Owen, a professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, told NBC Chicago that the Constitution’s language on creating new states is a significant barrier.² “It’s difficult because you have to get a lot of different parties to agree,” he said.²

What a “yes” vote would and would not do

Approval would not by itself lead to separation, FOX 32 reported.¹ Supporters point to Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which says no new state may be formed within another state’s jurisdiction without the consent of that state’s legislature and of Congress.^{1, 2} Newlin said a separation plan would need approval from the Illinois General Assembly and the U.S. Congress, according to FOX 32.¹