A group of counties in Illinois voted in favor of exploring whether they should secede from the state.

“A total of seven counties faced a ballot question on exploring the idea of secession, and all seven voted in favor of the proposal, according to county clerks’ offices,” NBC Chicago reports.

The language on the ballots read:

“Shall the board of (the county) correspond with the boards of 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?”

“More than 70% of voters were in favor of the measure in six counties,” International Business Times noted.

The counties included:

  • Iroquois County
  • Calhoun County
  • Clinton County
  • Green County
  • Jersey County
  • Madison County
  • Perry County

NBC Chicago reports:

Prior to this year’s election cycle, at least two dozen counties have already voted affirmatively on the non-binding initiatives.

The reasoning behind the referendums, according to supporters, is that the city of Chicago and Cook County have a sizable impact on the policies enacted by the state legislature, and rural counties share different interests that are not being represented by the actions of the General Assembly.

Many legal experts have expressed skepticism that such an effort could ever be successful. That group includes Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who penned a letter to the state’s attorney of Jersey County on the issue in 2023.

“The Illinois Constitution of 1970 does not grant non-home-rule counties the power to secede from the state of Illinois,” he found.

He also held that the state’s Election Code does not contain provisions allowing counties the power to hold binding referendums on whether or not they can secede from Illinois.

“Illinois voters in several pro-Trump counties voted in favor of seceding from Illinois to try to form a new state during the recent election,” International Business Times stated.

Per International Business Times:

Of the 102 counties in Illinois, just 13 voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the election, according to Politico.

However, those counties included the greater Chicago area, which harbors a significant portion of Illinois’ population.

Harris won Illinois with 53.6% of the vote.

 

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