“I grew up outside St. Louis and I always say Southern Illinois too. I see a lot of use of that term there, probably to distinguish it from the rest of Illinois and probably because Southern Illinois is just different from the rest of the state.”
It is nearly time for ‘57’ states. Divide Illinois. And give one senator to each half.
And the rest of you can come up with the ‘divides’ for the other states needing ‘division’.
As for Kalifornia, a massive earthquake dropping everything from San Fran to LA into the Pacific. And at the same time doing the same thing to ‘Lower California’, a part of Mexico...no longer a border of California with Mexico. This must occur when all California Senators and Reps are home for a long weekend.
In Southern Illinois, even Democrat candidates for the legislature pledge to fight the Chicago politicians.