Posted on 01/30/2025 3:03:52 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Indiana legislators would like to redraw the Indiana-Illinois border to absorb parts of Illinois, but the proposed action would face roadblocks on the Illinois side, which would prevent a border shift, political officials and experts said.
Indiana House Bill 1008, authored by the Republican Speaker Todd Huston, would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states. The commission would include five members appointed by the Indiana governor and five members appointed under Illinois law.
Huston said he decided to draft the bill after he learned that in November seven Illinois counties — Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties — voted to secede from the state. Iroquois County is on the Indiana border, while the other six counties are near Missouri.
Then, after further research, Huston said he learned that nearly three dozen Illinois counties have voted in recent years to leave the state. Based on those votes, Huston said he drafted the bill to look into shifting the border.
“These people literally went and voted. They have spoken,” Huston said. “Whether Indiana is the right solution or not, they’ve expressed their displeasure. We’re just saying, if you’ve expressed your displeasure, we’d love to have you.”
Huston said he and his staff have reached out to Illinois officials, but he deferred to them to share what they thought about the bill.
Illinois State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said Indiana officials haven’t reached out to him, but that the proposed bill is interesting. Halbrook said he has drafted bills in the last three legislative sessions to create a new state.
“I think it’s an interesting concept that a neighboring state directly to the east of us understands the plight that Illinois citizens are in
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
500k + to get an electoral vote.
“Indiana wants me, lord I can’t go back there.”
Give IL the northeast and southeast corners of the state, absorb the IL counties wanting to secede, problem solved.
I’m from Indiana and I’m all for it as long as Illinois takes Marion(Indianapolis), Monroe(Bloomington) and Lake(Gary) counties.
I recommend they do it in crayon so Pritzker can understand.
Why? Because Munster and South Chicago have so much similarity?
“All my exes live in Illinois. What? They are going to be in Indiana? No!!”
The article doesn’t mention Clark Co (IL) on the Indiana border, but I lived there and recall a poll in which 70% of respondents favored seceding from IL to IN. I’m sure it is similar across rural border counties. Needless to say IL would not willingly give up these counties - by the time all was said and done, it would consist of the Chicago area and maybe a few other urban areas. The same could be said of MI and other states dominated by a big city or cities.
Indiana should swap Gary and East Chicago in return for everything in Illinois outside the Chicago metro area. A win-win for both states.
Can Winnebago and Boone join Wisconsin?
“I wish I had you, to talk to”
The northern tier outside Chicago belong in Wisconsin.
These Illinoians would like to have their vote count for once.
Chicago always gives them RATs.
Perhaps they can absorb Western and upstate New York.
Is there any law that a state must be contiguous?
Upstate NY is certainly more like Indiana than it is NY City.
Doing genealogy research I discovered early on that state borders are not necessarily fixed. Nor or county borders.
In the early history of our nation it was not all that uncommon for state borders to be redrawn.
they should annex everything except Cook County, Springfield and Champaign-Urbana ...
Is there any law that a state must be contiguous?
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No.
Look at Michigan.
Four of the counties are contiguous and could more easily join Missouri. Perry Co. is isolated.
Minnesota and Washington both have bits of territory which can be reached by land only from Canada.
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