I've driven all over southern Illinois. It is beautiful, and the people are normal, and very nice. Maybe these southern Illinois counties should secede and join Indiana or Kentucky.
My ex-wife grew up in Southern Illinois. Her father was a labor foreman, and a Democratic precinct committeeman (also a former Army combat engineer with a Bronze Star from Vietnam). They all referred to Chicago as the “State of Chicago”. And weren’t fond of it.
Reynolds v. Sims ruined the state governments. Otherwise, Illinois could have ameliorated Chicgoland dominance by having conty-by-county representation in one house of the legisl00ture (say, 1 state senator per county, for example). Most Illinois counties are NOT corrupt Chicagoland.
Otherwise, just rename Illinois to something such as Cook-Lake-Will-Land.