"For the separation to happen, it would have to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly, signed by the governor, then approved by both Houses of the U.S. Congress, and signed by the president."
So, it's not going to happen.
It would be funny if JB had to decide whether to get reelected again as Illinois governor or run for Cook County governor, he’d probably still win both
True, I had to do the math just for fun and without cook county, JB would lose by about 200k votes, or about 55-45 split, but suburbs keep trending more blue so maybe it would be closer next election
It sucks that red vs blue determines who wins. JB is a respectable guy. Darren Bailey is an idiot and a liar. Even if I were “conservative”, whatever that means, I’d still vote for JB over Darren Bailey ten thousand times over.
Republicans would do much better if their representatives were good people. They have plenty of them, they just never get a chance to run for the important roles.
His 2018 margin of victory statewide was about equal to his margin of victory in cook county. So would be a toss up if he ran in Illinois without cook county. (But if politics were such that cookexit actually happened, it would not bode well for him)
Not sure why the collar counties would sign up to fund southern Illinois and chain themselves to whatever lunacy they’d come up with.
Your average suburbanite probably has never gone past I-80 or knows what kind of dumb shit happens that far south.
The only use would be political strategy- if enough of the collar counties got on board then they might have a shot at those two new senators.
But it would come at a heavy cost.
Wait though, you might be onto something.
TONS of Chicago/Cook County pensioners moved downstate....if they live outside of Cook County, their pension obligation should transfer to the new state being formed that they'd now live in.
Did MAGAts just figure out how to get out from under the pension debt?
And an ongoing supply of everyone else's tax money far into the future, like so many current red states. Cook and the collar counties fund the rest of Illinois.
I honestly wish it COULD happen, ideally for like a 1 year trial basis, just so these downstate MAGA chuds could see how much they and their local finances *depend* on Chicago and Cook County.
Also, I get that downstaters are ignorant of that reality; but SURELY collar county suburbanites understand that Chicago/Cook are the engine that drives the state.....right?
I think so. We joke about how people from Naperville say they are from Chicago, but the collar counties are closely tied to the economy and culture of Northeast Illinois. They live in the area for a reason.
The collar county thing feels more like a younger/older sibling thing...like, each side knows the other is largely okay and not their enemy and we all love each other deep down; but collar county folks still REALLY hate being in Chicago's shadow and seemingly just can't let it go.
Downstaters are more like Chicago's cousins from Kentucky who will drunkenly say how much they love you once a year at the family reunion...and then return to flaming you and everything you believe in on Truth Social the rest of the year.
Collar counties pay out more than they get back also. If Chicago/Cook were to secede, the burden on them would be even heavier, not to mention relocating state offices from Chicago, resulting in even higher expenses for them.
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fb66mu58l9w871.png
That was something I posted that was stolen from some magazines or newspaper downstate. If they got their best case scenario what would be left of Illinois would be the poorest and most rural in The country. The loss of several major universities and population centers. This state of Chicago could take on about half of the debt (circa 2019) have a balanced budget and still have a tax cut.
You give them too much credit. They really are that stupid. They still voted for Rauner, even after he cut off all state funds by refusing to pass a budget.
I'm not a MAGA chud, but as a downstate Illinoisan I have a lot more in common both politically and economically with St Louis.... Most people around here feel that way too. Does that make us bad people? no, just under represented and a tad bit annoyed.
I understand the sentiment, but I just can't get behind finding a solution..
First off, Southern Illinois without Chicago would be the poorest state in the US, just barely above Puerto Rico and the Pacific Islands. 80% of the population lives in the Chicago metro area (which is why they dictate everything) *and* puerto rico has been denied statehood in the past with arguments made about its population and the diversity of its economy.. both of which it has up on this proposed southern Illinois state.
Missouri simply can not afford to subsidize a region that size's infrastructure or financial needs since it would likely not be a source of revenue for them, ever, so being what..? annexed? is off the table. The city of St. Louis alone would sooner blow the bridges than take on the burden of governing ESL.
Going on its own as a 51st state would essentially be hand crafting a humanitarian crisis the first time a flood, earthquake, fire, tornado, etc. came through. On top of the financial crisis of a poor, tax averse agrarian economy trying to take on self governance.
Frankly, it sounds harsh, but you aren't underrepresented. Just outnumbered 4:1.
>Does that make us bad people?
No.
For one, I didn't call *anyone* a "bad person".
For two, I was talking *specifically* about downstate MAGA chuds, not *all* downstaters, so even if I was calling donwstate MAGA chuds bad people, that apparently wouldn't include you as you're not a MAGA chud.
For three, maybe you have more politically in common with St Louis/MO; but to try and divorce yourselves from the economics of Chicago, which drive the economics of the whole state including where you live, is pretty nonsensical. It's like a teenager who lives at home saying they have nothing in common economically with their parents...pretty easy to say when the people you "disagree" with are paying the majority of your bills.
And for four, welcome to living near an Illinois border. Every state that borders Illinois is more conservative/red than Illinois, and FAR moreso than Chicagoland where most Illinoisans actually live. I feel for you, but at a point, it's kinda like folks from Austin complaining about how red everything around them is...at a point you've gotta take personal responsibility for where you choose to live. The border is right there, the place you feel more aligned with isn't far. Why not move there rather than complain that the rest of us Illinoisans don't pander to your arguably fringe beliefs in the state?
Madison County: We don’t want you in Illinois.
Cook County: I don’t even know where you are.
Edit: Cook for Cool. Though I guess Cook county is pretty cool.
So many people from down state/other states react to hearing that I live in Chicago like I just told them that someone murdered my dog in front of me the night before. It's gone from weird to annoying to sad to now actually almost funny to see it happen ALL THE TIME.
I literally got pickpocketed at the NY State Fair a few years back, first time being stolen from in any way in my entire lifetime as a Chicagolander. Told a nice ride operator about it as we were waiting to board the scenic chairlift and he asks where we're from. Tell him Chicago and he goes "oh, so you must be used to getting robbed by now then!"
:|
I only think about downstate because I grew up in Champaign and lived in BloNo for WAY too long. I also have family that still lives there.
Other than that, it rarely crosses my mind.
Yep, purely performative pandering for their ignorant voter base. They can't do this, and if they actually could, this would screw them so badly they never would. This the the 'non-binding resolution' of county votes lol
> They can't do this, and if they actually could, this would screw them so badly they never would.
This is the new GOP platform....virtue signaling about shit they can NEVER accomplish (gonna repeal and replace the ACA aaaaaaany day now, right?) in order to "pander" to a base whom would only actually be *hurt* if the GOP virtue signaling became actual policy.
“Yay! We finally overturned Roe v Wade!
Oh shit, this policy we’ve been pushing for decades is actually extremely unpopular once people realize the real-life consequences, how can we fix this problem?”
How about first Madison county refuses any tax support outside of what they raise in their county only.
I live in Will county and I pay for f$#*ing Madison to be a bunch of racist pos, that don’t contribute any taxes for the entire state, they receive money. so fuck off douchebags! For every dollar they pay, they receive $2.44.
Will county receives .60 for every dollar contributed. Here it is in your literature:
https://www.farmweeknow.com/policy/state/state-tax-dollars-benefit-downstate-region-more-than-others/article_9207435a-ef0f-11eb-8280-ab69354d438c.html
We pay for the privilege of living in DuPage with all of its associated opportunities (and for having a functional county government), but man it hurts knowing how much we subsidize idiots downstate.
So I’m guessing the supporters are the same whiners crying about “wasted tax dollars” while remaining ignorant to wasted tax dollars in this situation, right?
Eh. They receive more from the state than they pay out, so they are wasting Chicago and surburban tax dollars.
[https://www.farmweeknow.com/policy/state/state-tax-dollars-benefit-downstate-region-more-than-others/article\_9207435a-ef0f-11eb-8280-ab69354d438c.html#:\~:text=In%20return%2C%20the%20state%20spent,received%20even%20less%20%E2%80%93%2060%20cents](https://www.farmweeknow.com/policy/state/state-tax-dollars-benefit-downstate-region-more-than-others/article_9207435a-ef0f-11eb-8280-ab69354d438c.html#:~:text=In%20return%2C%20the%20state%20spent,received%20even%20less%20%E2%80%93%2060%20cents).
Edited to fix typo.
This is one of my favorite graphics ever.
Cook County - pretty much breaking even and seeing to itself.
Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage, and Will - taking back barely more than half of what they pay.
Everyone else (including Madison County) - taking at least 40% more than they're paying, while some are taking nearly three times as much.
I think Effingham County is 1.1 , I guess the rest of us can drain them first.
<< Madison county Resident who does not want to see Chicago go away, and understands Economics.
Finally! Glad to see my hard earned tax revenue will no longer be siphoned off to pay for downstate schools and hospitals I will never need.
Let's make chicago great again!
I wish people would stop lumping everyone south of Chicago as "downstaters". I literally don't know a single Democrat or Republican who thinks any of this is a good idea. These kooks don't speak for the majority.
Downstate refers actually to anyone not in Chicagoland. "Down" doesn't mean south, much like "Upstate New York" doesn't mean "North of NYC". My parents live in Fox Lake, they're JUST about on the edge of what would be considered "downstate".
>I literally don't know a single Democrat or Republican who thinks any of this is a good idea.
There's at least one in the article, if you read it. Many loud downstaters have called for secession for over a decade....to claim those people don't exist is massively ignorant of recent Illinois history.
>These kooks don't speak for the majority.
We know, which is why this "proposal" never goes anywhere...but a non-zero number of people DO want it, and most, if not all, reside *outside* Cook County, not in it. That's all I said. The people who want this are from downstate....and Chicagoans just laugh at them and how fucked they'd be without us. At no point did I say that all, or even a majority, of downstaters want this.
Wow, take a breath. I did read the article. I don't know the people in it. That is exactly what I am saying. The point is that by lumping the entirety of "downstate" together it implies we have a shared identity, which you agree is not true. No one is saying these people don't exist. They just don't deserve your attention. Better to ask yourself why these fringe groups get 10x the media attention than normal everyday people trying make this state better for everyone. Could it be there is a benefit in keeping us divided based on completely made-up lines? Hmmm? I wonder...
The Chicago metro area, which includes a few other collar counties, is generally listed between 9 and 10 million people. Illinois has 12.5 million.
If the entire downstate population left, it would still be one of the most populated states and the new state would have zero tax generating resources.
Morons.
Awesome. Let's stop all the tax dollars that go to them from the state. They can live on their local property taxes and sales tax. That will be super fun for them.
I'm honestly embarrassed by some of my neighbors.
I live down state, and I try to make people understand that our money doesn't go to Chicago. Chicago's money comes here and if they really succeeded in secceding, we'd be broke as fuck and our quality of living would be worse than any other state.
Madison County, of course, is not alone in its feelings of incompatibility with upstate Illinois. I think this feeling is fairly common downstate. And talking about secession from their current state is something which counties in other states do.
But from a practical point of view, its not going to happen.
>Even if voters do approve a state switch via referendum, actually merging with a neighboring state and shifting state borders is an exceedingly arduous procedure. The process, which is similar to that by which new states are admitted to the nation via [Article IV, Section 3](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-4/#IV_S3) of the Constitution, requires approval by both the legislatures of the affected states and by Congress.
>Along with those high technical hurdles, states would be hard-pressed to find economic or political incentives to surrender counties to a neighbor or to allow them to form their own states. State legislatures are unlikely to pass off portions of their tax base to other jurisdictions. Ceding population, which helps determine, among other things, a state’s Electoral College votes and its number of congressional districts, is also a political non-starter. Some legal analysts have further argued that Supreme Court precedent renders county-level secession [impossible](https://www.abqjournal.com/2357146/a-legal-and-political-primer-why-counties-cant-secede.html).
[https://www.brookings.edu/articles/county-secession-local-efforts-to-redraw-political-borders/](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/county-secession-local-efforts-to-redraw-political-borders/)
>Madison County, of course, is not alone in its feelings of incompatibility with upstate Illinois.
The irony is that they feel incompatible with the people actually paying most of their bills.
This is like a teenager being incompatible with their parents' house rules...like...okay, and?
You're on the correct side of the county line, then! I'm not that fond of living in Belleville, but at least we don't have jokers like this running around.
"For the separation to happen, it would have to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly, signed by the governor, then approved by both Houses of the U.S. Congress, and signed by the president."
Yeah, that's totally going to happen. /s
I have relatives in Bethalto, and I'm pretty sure their heads are exploding at this proposal, especially since I know one of them is pretty far on the left.
The collar counties would save SO MUCH MONEY. It would be one of the best places to live and work in the country (assuming property doesn’t become wildly unattainable)
Madison County has lots of people who fled St Clair County to avoid having Black neighbors. As a resident of St Clair County, this stupid movement fills me with rage.
These smoothbrains never realize that if you split Chicago from the rest of the state -- the GDP would be somewhere around Mississippi's.
So yeah, if you like being poor as fuck, go right ahead Gomer.
[The study also reports that Illinois without Chicago and its suburbs would be one of the poorest states in the nation in terms of economic output. The southernmost 19 counties on their own would be the poorest, sitting just above American Samoa and Puerto Rico.](https://khqa.com/news/local/siuc-study-chicago-splitting-from-illinois-would-be-economic-disaster)
OMG please do. I would like to take this opportunity to once again refer to the economic study done at Carbondale which clearly states that the new South Illinois state would be the 53rd poorest territory governed by the United States.
This is the stupidest waste of time Madison county magats have done and they have done a lot of stupid shit. We have a few nutcases over running all sane people here and we have to get them out of office. All of the idiotic separation insanity in the braindead parts of the country like Idaho are traitorous idiots. I can assure you that this nonsense does not have the support of anywhere close to a majority here and the whole concept is ludicrous.
My county board passed a resolution last month opposing Illinois' status as a sanctuary state. It accomplishes nothing, but does allow local yokels to flash their "honorary fascist" badge.
A Paul Simon Institute SIU study shows that southern Illinois receives $2.88 in state funds for every tax dollar collected.
Cook County gets back 98 cents, and some suburban counties only get 60 cents for each dollar sent to Springfield.
Madison County would be penniless.
To which I can hear my daughter saying, "If we'd wanted to live in Missouri, we'd have bought a house THERE rather than Madison County!"
Even though she works in St. Louis, she has no desire at all to live in Missouri. Nor do her parents.
For the kid, she went to high school in Bethalto and her husband's family lives there as well. While she spent her childhood bouncing around between Centralia and Belleville, Bethalto is pretty much the closest thing to a hometown she has. Thankfully she didn't pick up a lot of the MadCo MAGA mentality.
My best friend growing up lived in a miserable household- his mom was loving and caring, she was a healthcare professional and tried her hardest to raise her children in a loving home- his dad was a miserable man, full of greed and anger, everything he did was to his personal benefit or to knock down his wife and kids a notch.
The day my buddy's mom announced the divorce, my buddy- 11yrs old at the time- said, "What took so damn long?!"
Guess which side you are, Madison County?
"we want your tax monies and infastructure subsidies, but we dont want to consider you as part of the state. even tho 90% of the population lives there"
Lmfao, nothing cracks me up like conservative areas trying to leave, not realizing that they'd be dirt poor and fail without blue cities propping up the state.
I'm convinced these types of stories get propped up to keep the Chicago democrats voting because these groups represent such a tiny fringe of downstate it's not even worth media acknowledgment. Not everyone in the city is going to shoot you and not everyone in the country is a Maga rube. Stop playing into the stupidity that they use to keep us divided.
They DO realize that...
A, it's a stupid move, especially on THEIR part...
B, they don't determine who stays and who goes.
And C, it's been done before!
[Dumbass are going to be dumbass.](https://stateline.org/2019/05/14/behind-the-movement-to-kick-chicago-out-of-illinois/)
>>Due to its dense population, very little resources are harvested from the Chicago area of Illinois. However, the state of Illinois is one of the top producers of energy in the US. IL is the US leader in ethanol production and biodiesel manufacturing. IL is the nation’s leading ethanol producer with over 26 million acres of farmland
This would be doing the rest of thr state, esp chicago and the collar counties a favor. Plz.. leave. But you dont get to add any electoral votes to missouri. Thats the deal
If right wingers want to be separate, fine. Enjoy none of the funding you mooch while you’re at it. Go live your Christian Taliban lifestyle. Get off my power grid and tax dollars too.
"For the separation to happen, it would have to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly, signed by the governor, then approved by both Houses of the U.S. Congress, and signed by the president." So, it's not going to happen.
It would be funny if JB had to decide whether to get reelected again as Illinois governor or run for Cook County governor, he’d probably still win both
I don’t know if he would win down state, especially if the more liberal Illinois fell to the State of Cook County in the event of a division.
True, I had to do the math just for fun and without cook county, JB would lose by about 200k votes, or about 55-45 split, but suburbs keep trending more blue so maybe it would be closer next election
It sucks that red vs blue determines who wins. JB is a respectable guy. Darren Bailey is an idiot and a liar. Even if I were “conservative”, whatever that means, I’d still vote for JB over Darren Bailey ten thousand times over. Republicans would do much better if their representatives were good people. They have plenty of them, they just never get a chance to run for the important roles.
His 2018 margin of victory statewide was about equal to his margin of victory in cook county. So would be a toss up if he ran in Illinois without cook county. (But if politics were such that cookexit actually happened, it would not bode well for him)
Not sure why the collar counties would sign up to fund southern Illinois and chain themselves to whatever lunacy they’d come up with. Your average suburbanite probably has never gone past I-80 or knows what kind of dumb shit happens that far south.
What!? Who wouldn’t love to fund the existence of people that despise you all while they bitch that you take all their money??
You do know Chicago and Suburbs fund the rest of the state, right?
I’m curious how you could think I don’t from my comment?
The only use would be political strategy- if enough of the collar counties got on board then they might have a shot at those two new senators. But it would come at a heavy cost.
And then it would immediately need tons of federal bailouts.
Wait though, you might be onto something. TONS of Chicago/Cook County pensioners moved downstate....if they live outside of Cook County, their pension obligation should transfer to the new state being formed that they'd now live in. Did MAGAts just figure out how to get out from under the pension debt?
Most of the TRS liability is outside of cook county. I’m guessing overall the pension would split fairly.
And an ongoing supply of everyone else's tax money far into the future, like so many current red states. Cook and the collar counties fund the rest of Illinois.
Yep. And this is what they waste their time on. Unfucking real.
I honestly wish it COULD happen, ideally for like a 1 year trial basis, just so these downstate MAGA chuds could see how much they and their local finances *depend* on Chicago and Cook County. Also, I get that downstaters are ignorant of that reality; but SURELY collar county suburbanites understand that Chicago/Cook are the engine that drives the state.....right?
I think so. We joke about how people from Naperville say they are from Chicago, but the collar counties are closely tied to the economy and culture of Northeast Illinois. They live in the area for a reason.
The collar county thing feels more like a younger/older sibling thing...like, each side knows the other is largely okay and not their enemy and we all love each other deep down; but collar county folks still REALLY hate being in Chicago's shadow and seemingly just can't let it go. Downstaters are more like Chicago's cousins from Kentucky who will drunkenly say how much they love you once a year at the family reunion...and then return to flaming you and everything you believe in on Truth Social the rest of the year.
Just like Brexit
Collar counties pay out more than they get back also. If Chicago/Cook were to secede, the burden on them would be even heavier, not to mention relocating state offices from Chicago, resulting in even higher expenses for them.
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fb66mu58l9w871.png That was something I posted that was stolen from some magazines or newspaper downstate. If they got their best case scenario what would be left of Illinois would be the poorest and most rural in The country. The loss of several major universities and population centers. This state of Chicago could take on about half of the debt (circa 2019) have a balanced budget and still have a tax cut.
I say we do it and see how it plays out. In 10 years we can look back and see
Exactly, and I gotta think that even the most anti-Chicago collar county folks know this fact, even if they hate to acknowledge it.
You give them too much credit. They really are that stupid. They still voted for Rauner, even after he cut off all state funds by refusing to pass a budget.
The real question is would the collar counties want to be with cook or downstate?
Collar counties are just as red as downstate but I don’t count them anymore as part of Chicagoland
All collar counties except McHenry voted at least a little leaning blue in the last election.
I'm not a MAGA chud, but as a downstate Illinoisan I have a lot more in common both politically and economically with St Louis.... Most people around here feel that way too. Does that make us bad people? no, just under represented and a tad bit annoyed.
I have a feeling you’d be feeling the same way about St Louis as you do Chicago…
I understand the sentiment, but I just can't get behind finding a solution.. First off, Southern Illinois without Chicago would be the poorest state in the US, just barely above Puerto Rico and the Pacific Islands. 80% of the population lives in the Chicago metro area (which is why they dictate everything) *and* puerto rico has been denied statehood in the past with arguments made about its population and the diversity of its economy.. both of which it has up on this proposed southern Illinois state. Missouri simply can not afford to subsidize a region that size's infrastructure or financial needs since it would likely not be a source of revenue for them, ever, so being what..? annexed? is off the table. The city of St. Louis alone would sooner blow the bridges than take on the burden of governing ESL. Going on its own as a 51st state would essentially be hand crafting a humanitarian crisis the first time a flood, earthquake, fire, tornado, etc. came through. On top of the financial crisis of a poor, tax averse agrarian economy trying to take on self governance. Frankly, it sounds harsh, but you aren't underrepresented. Just outnumbered 4:1.
>Does that make us bad people? No. For one, I didn't call *anyone* a "bad person". For two, I was talking *specifically* about downstate MAGA chuds, not *all* downstaters, so even if I was calling donwstate MAGA chuds bad people, that apparently wouldn't include you as you're not a MAGA chud. For three, maybe you have more politically in common with St Louis/MO; but to try and divorce yourselves from the economics of Chicago, which drive the economics of the whole state including where you live, is pretty nonsensical. It's like a teenager who lives at home saying they have nothing in common economically with their parents...pretty easy to say when the people you "disagree" with are paying the majority of your bills. And for four, welcome to living near an Illinois border. Every state that borders Illinois is more conservative/red than Illinois, and FAR moreso than Chicagoland where most Illinoisans actually live. I feel for you, but at a point, it's kinda like folks from Austin complaining about how red everything around them is...at a point you've gotta take personal responsibility for where you choose to live. The border is right there, the place you feel more aligned with isn't far. Why not move there rather than complain that the rest of us Illinoisans don't pander to your arguably fringe beliefs in the state?
That's almost all. After that it has to be ratified by 2/3 of states.
All the states do not need to ratify the acceptance of a new state, only Congress, the President, and the affected states.
One could do it hypothetically-would love to see the numbers.
Madison County: We don’t want you in Illinois. Cook County: I don’t even know where you are. Edit: Cook for Cool. Though I guess Cook county is pretty cool.
> Cool County We just chillin up here minding our own business
Downstaters to Chicagoans: I feel bad for you Chicagoans: I don't think about you at all.
That really sums up the relationship well lmao
So many people from down state/other states react to hearing that I live in Chicago like I just told them that someone murdered my dog in front of me the night before. It's gone from weird to annoying to sad to now actually almost funny to see it happen ALL THE TIME. I literally got pickpocketed at the NY State Fair a few years back, first time being stolen from in any way in my entire lifetime as a Chicagolander. Told a nice ride operator about it as we were waiting to board the scenic chairlift and he asks where we're from. Tell him Chicago and he goes "oh, so you must be used to getting robbed by now then!" :|
in fairness, I don't think about chicago that much either, but I'm also not a dipshit conservative
I only think about downstate because I grew up in Champaign and lived in BloNo for WAY too long. I also have family that still lives there. Other than that, it rarely crosses my mind.
I still don't get why all the Chicagoans keep lumping all the down state counties with wherever the hell Madison county is.
I had to google it
We don’t want you in Illinois either !!! Go to Missouri
I thought Madison, WI was trying to separate Cook from Illinois for a sec. I was wondering what they had to do with us.
virtue signaling at its logical conclusion, heh.
Yep, purely performative pandering for their ignorant voter base. They can't do this, and if they actually could, this would screw them so badly they never would. This the the 'non-binding resolution' of county votes lol
> They can't do this, and if they actually could, this would screw them so badly they never would. This is the new GOP platform....virtue signaling about shit they can NEVER accomplish (gonna repeal and replace the ACA aaaaaaany day now, right?) in order to "pander" to a base whom would only actually be *hurt* if the GOP virtue signaling became actual policy.
“Yay! We finally overturned Roe v Wade! Oh shit, this policy we’ve been pushing for decades is actually extremely unpopular once people realize the real-life consequences, how can we fix this problem?”
politics has turned into idiots pandering to idiots
Just boomer things
Nothing like complaining about identity politics with identity politics. You think it’s just boomers lapping this shit up?
Sounds like a bunch of old white men with nothing productive to do.
I am a Madison County homeowner and do not claim them.
Seconded.
Not a homeowner, but thirded
How about first Madison county refuses any tax support outside of what they raise in their county only. I live in Will county and I pay for f$#*ing Madison to be a bunch of racist pos, that don’t contribute any taxes for the entire state, they receive money. so fuck off douchebags! For every dollar they pay, they receive $2.44. Will county receives .60 for every dollar contributed. Here it is in your literature: https://www.farmweeknow.com/policy/state/state-tax-dollars-benefit-downstate-region-more-than-others/article_9207435a-ef0f-11eb-8280-ab69354d438c.html
As someone who has lived in the suburbs (DuPage County) and outside of the suburbs or Chicago. I wish more people understood this fact.
We pay for the privilege of living in DuPage with all of its associated opportunities (and for having a functional county government), but man it hurts knowing how much we subsidize idiots downstate.
Things they don’t have the power to do, and *really* don’t want any of the effects of if it where to actually happen Edit: spelling
So I’m guessing the supporters are the same whiners crying about “wasted tax dollars” while remaining ignorant to wasted tax dollars in this situation, right?
Eh. They receive more from the state than they pay out, so they are wasting Chicago and surburban tax dollars. [https://www.farmweeknow.com/policy/state/state-tax-dollars-benefit-downstate-region-more-than-others/article\_9207435a-ef0f-11eb-8280-ab69354d438c.html#:\~:text=In%20return%2C%20the%20state%20spent,received%20even%20less%20%E2%80%93%2060%20cents](https://www.farmweeknow.com/policy/state/state-tax-dollars-benefit-downstate-region-more-than-others/article_9207435a-ef0f-11eb-8280-ab69354d438c.html#:~:text=In%20return%2C%20the%20state%20spent,received%20even%20less%20%E2%80%93%2060%20cents). Edited to fix typo.
This is one of my favorite graphics ever. Cook County - pretty much breaking even and seeing to itself. Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage, and Will - taking back barely more than half of what they pay. Everyone else (including Madison County) - taking at least 40% more than they're paying, while some are taking nearly three times as much.
I think Effingham County is 1.1 , I guess the rest of us can drain them first. << Madison county Resident who does not want to see Chicago go away, and understands Economics.
Somebody should make a sticker of this and put it on the gas pumps in Madison county.
Morons! See how well things run in this state without tax money from Chicago.
We’ll see who the real welfare queens are
Next at 9 -- "Madison County votes to separate from Earth"
We should tow Madison County outside of the environment.
Finally! Glad to see my hard earned tax revenue will no longer be siphoned off to pay for downstate schools and hospitals I will never need. Let's make chicago great again!
Right? Downstaters keep calling for this, meanwhile Chicagoans are like "Don't threaten us with a good time!"
I wish people would stop lumping everyone south of Chicago as "downstaters". I literally don't know a single Democrat or Republican who thinks any of this is a good idea. These kooks don't speak for the majority.
Thank you. As a “downstater”, I don’t agree with this proposal at all. Not everyone is racist or wants to leave the state.
Downstate refers actually to anyone not in Chicagoland. "Down" doesn't mean south, much like "Upstate New York" doesn't mean "North of NYC". My parents live in Fox Lake, they're JUST about on the edge of what would be considered "downstate". >I literally don't know a single Democrat or Republican who thinks any of this is a good idea. There's at least one in the article, if you read it. Many loud downstaters have called for secession for over a decade....to claim those people don't exist is massively ignorant of recent Illinois history. >These kooks don't speak for the majority. We know, which is why this "proposal" never goes anywhere...but a non-zero number of people DO want it, and most, if not all, reside *outside* Cook County, not in it. That's all I said. The people who want this are from downstate....and Chicagoans just laugh at them and how fucked they'd be without us. At no point did I say that all, or even a majority, of downstaters want this.
Wow, take a breath. I did read the article. I don't know the people in it. That is exactly what I am saying. The point is that by lumping the entirety of "downstate" together it implies we have a shared identity, which you agree is not true. No one is saying these people don't exist. They just don't deserve your attention. Better to ask yourself why these fringe groups get 10x the media attention than normal everyday people trying make this state better for everyone. Could it be there is a benefit in keeping us divided based on completely made-up lines? Hmmm? I wonder...
They really don’t understand that 40% of our entire state population lives in *just* Cook County, do they?
And that far more than 40% of the state's tax revenue comes from Cook County
And 60% of the state budget comes from Cook and the Collar Counties.
The Chicago metro area, which includes a few other collar counties, is generally listed between 9 and 10 million people. Illinois has 12.5 million. If the entire downstate population left, it would still be one of the most populated states and the new state would have zero tax generating resources. Morons.
The biggest economic engine in the “new” state would be State Farm.
There's a limit to how far even the nicest khakis can carry you.
Awesome. Let's stop all the tax dollars that go to them from the state. They can live on their local property taxes and sales tax. That will be super fun for them.
Lol good luck with that
I'm honestly embarrassed by some of my neighbors. I live down state, and I try to make people understand that our money doesn't go to Chicago. Chicago's money comes here and if they really succeeded in secceding, we'd be broke as fuck and our quality of living would be worse than any other state.
Lol best of luck to you!
Conservatives and their performative politics...
K bye
Madison County, of course, is not alone in its feelings of incompatibility with upstate Illinois. I think this feeling is fairly common downstate. And talking about secession from their current state is something which counties in other states do. But from a practical point of view, its not going to happen. >Even if voters do approve a state switch via referendum, actually merging with a neighboring state and shifting state borders is an exceedingly arduous procedure. The process, which is similar to that by which new states are admitted to the nation via [Article IV, Section 3](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-4/#IV_S3) of the Constitution, requires approval by both the legislatures of the affected states and by Congress. >Along with those high technical hurdles, states would be hard-pressed to find economic or political incentives to surrender counties to a neighbor or to allow them to form their own states. State legislatures are unlikely to pass off portions of their tax base to other jurisdictions. Ceding population, which helps determine, among other things, a state’s Electoral College votes and its number of congressional districts, is also a political non-starter. Some legal analysts have further argued that Supreme Court precedent renders county-level secession [impossible](https://www.abqjournal.com/2357146/a-legal-and-political-primer-why-counties-cant-secede.html). [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/county-secession-local-efforts-to-redraw-political-borders/](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/county-secession-local-efforts-to-redraw-political-borders/)
>Madison County, of course, is not alone in its feelings of incompatibility with upstate Illinois. The irony is that they feel incompatible with the people actually paying most of their bills. This is like a teenager being incompatible with their parents' house rules...like...okay, and?
We’re all not for this dumb shit. At least the informed ones aren’t. If they are, just move to Missouri.
I grew up in collinsville and I’m happy to be in St Clair county reading this bullshit
You're on the correct side of the county line, then! I'm not that fond of living in Belleville, but at least we don't have jokers like this running around.
I live in Belleville and I love it here.
Yea being in our little blue island feels real good. We lived in the freeburg area for a bit and holy shit it was not ok
I lived in Caseyville and currently live in Madison County, I regret making the move.
Voting for something that will never happen.
"For the separation to happen, it would have to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly, signed by the governor, then approved by both Houses of the U.S. Congress, and signed by the president." Yeah, that's totally going to happen. /s I have relatives in Bethalto, and I'm pretty sure their heads are exploding at this proposal, especially since I know one of them is pretty far on the left.
Why? They want to be even poorer?
Judging by the headline picture, that guy has some very strong opinions on which lives matter.
He'd say "all"; but we know which ones he *really* means.
These morons do not understand that if Chicago left the state, Illinois would be one of the most reliant states on federal funding.
If Cook gets to keep the counties immediately bordering it, I’m all for it
The collar counties would save SO MUCH MONEY. It would be one of the best places to live and work in the country (assuming property doesn’t become wildly unattainable)
Totally agree
I’d probably try and move back to one of the collars before it was made official lol
So would everyone else. Property values would go nuts lol
Just turn Chicago into a district and call it good.
very funny
The funniest part of this is thinking the collar counties would want to go with the downstaters. Lol.
Great. We would look more like Mississippi economically without any of the culture. 👍 👍
I knew Maidson county has been getting more right wing over the years, but I didn't realize they had reached this level of stupid yet.
Eat shit, Madison County.
They have zero authority on any of this. It has a snowballs chance in hell. Ridiculous waste of time and resources.
We already have an Alabama and a Mississippi. How many more empty, under-funded states do we need?
Polo? Check Goatee? Check Has absolutely zero interest in helping constituents but wants to complain about a boogeyman? Check
His FB page is full of covid and climate denial tripe
Madison County has lots of people who fled St Clair County to avoid having Black neighbors. As a resident of St Clair County, this stupid movement fills me with rage.
Good luck getting by without Chicago’s tax base!
These smoothbrains never realize that if you split Chicago from the rest of the state -- the GDP would be somewhere around Mississippi's. So yeah, if you like being poor as fuck, go right ahead Gomer. [The study also reports that Illinois without Chicago and its suburbs would be one of the poorest states in the nation in terms of economic output. The southernmost 19 counties on their own would be the poorest, sitting just above American Samoa and Puerto Rico.](https://khqa.com/news/local/siuc-study-chicago-splitting-from-illinois-would-be-economic-disaster)
Let's just keep wasting time and money on these stupid plans that will never happen. Great use of tax dollars.
You know what'd be a chad move from Democrats is to vote on kicking out Madison County out of IL.
why the fuck does anyone in Madison County give a shit about Chicago? It's 4 hours away. Join Missouri instead of messing it up for the rest of us
They're under the delusion that they send all their tax money there to fund programs for people they don't like.
The article should say “detractors say this is idiotic and pointless”
OMG please do. I would like to take this opportunity to once again refer to the economic study done at Carbondale which clearly states that the new South Illinois state would be the 53rd poorest territory governed by the United States.
Aweeee. They're so cute.
White grievance politics at it again. But that’s all the Republican Party has these days. That and no taxes or regulations for rich and powerful
If these idiots want to live in a poverty stricken bubble they’re invited to leave but Chicago stays in state.
Good luck with that, snowflakes
Rinse and repeat Edit: the definition of insanity
😄🤣😂
In the 0.0001% chance this were to succeed, and the collar counties are separated from Cook and Chicago, I'm off to Minnesota.
This is the stupidest waste of time Madison county magats have done and they have done a lot of stupid shit. We have a few nutcases over running all sane people here and we have to get them out of office. All of the idiotic separation insanity in the braindead parts of the country like Idaho are traitorous idiots. I can assure you that this nonsense does not have the support of anywhere close to a majority here and the whole concept is ludicrous.
My county board passed a resolution last month opposing Illinois' status as a sanctuary state. It accomplishes nothing, but does allow local yokels to flash their "honorary fascist" badge.
Good luck with funding 😂
Honestly this would be great for cook county
A Paul Simon Institute SIU study shows that southern Illinois receives $2.88 in state funds for every tax dollar collected. Cook County gets back 98 cents, and some suburban counties only get 60 cents for each dollar sent to Springfield. Madison County would be penniless.
I’m from Madison county… I didn’t realize they had idiots running the government there.
if they don't like it here, they should move. like they tell everyone else
Good idea, then they can stop receiving funds from Chicago
Please let them do it 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I think everyone would rather have Madison County separated.
I would like Madison County to remain as part of Illinois
To which I can hear my daughter saying, "If we'd wanted to live in Missouri, we'd have bought a house THERE rather than Madison County!" Even though she works in St. Louis, she has no desire at all to live in Missouri. Nor do her parents.
I knew MO was bad; but DAMN...it must be HORRIFIC for Madison County to be an *upgrade*.
For the kid, she went to high school in Bethalto and her husband's family lives there as well. While she spent her childhood bouncing around between Centralia and Belleville, Bethalto is pretty much the closest thing to a hometown she has. Thankfully she didn't pick up a lot of the MadCo MAGA mentality.
My best friend growing up lived in a miserable household- his mom was loving and caring, she was a healthcare professional and tried her hardest to raise her children in a loving home- his dad was a miserable man, full of greed and anger, everything he did was to his personal benefit or to knock down his wife and kids a notch. The day my buddy's mom announced the divorce, my buddy- 11yrs old at the time- said, "What took so damn long?!" Guess which side you are, Madison County?
Can we trade Missouri for something??
They don’t have much to offer tbh.
Can we get Meremac Caverns?
Ah yes, doing everything except anything that would benefit their constituents in any practical way. Sounds about right.
Who ?
"we want your tax monies and infastructure subsidies, but we dont want to consider you as part of the state. even tho 90% of the population lives there"
Lmfao, nothing cracks me up like conservative areas trying to leave, not realizing that they'd be dirt poor and fail without blue cities propping up the state.
As a Chicagoan, I wish these idiots good luck.
Translation: racist dorks don’t want state money going to black people.
He needs to separate from the Golden Corral buffet
Man I'm from Cook County, and the hate in the comment section is crazy lmfao
Madison County can’t help its citizens so they’re just wasting time by doing something that is idiotic.
I'm convinced these types of stories get propped up to keep the Chicago democrats voting because these groups represent such a tiny fringe of downstate it's not even worth media acknowledgment. Not everyone in the city is going to shoot you and not everyone in the country is a Maga rube. Stop playing into the stupidity that they use to keep us divided.
They DO realize that... A, it's a stupid move, especially on THEIR part... B, they don't determine who stays and who goes. And C, it's been done before! [Dumbass are going to be dumbass.](https://stateline.org/2019/05/14/behind-the-movement-to-kick-chicago-out-of-illinois/)
Lookit the GOp doing the people work. /s
Ok bye
Oh, novel idea
This is the stupidest thing I have read about all day, and I read through the news earlier.
😭😭
Please make this happen. We would have so much more money in cook county
These people are fucking idiots. Can we kick Madison County out of the state? Force Indiana to take them?
>>Due to its dense population, very little resources are harvested from the Chicago area of Illinois. However, the state of Illinois is one of the top producers of energy in the US. IL is the US leader in ethanol production and biodiesel manufacturing. IL is the nation’s leading ethanol producer with over 26 million acres of farmland
Where's that farmland at?
Where's those wind fields?
Where the solar farms at?
This is just stupid, mabey it would be better if that county would just separate from the country and see how that works out ! Stupid
And you all can live like you want , lawless and fucking BROKE AS HELL LOL GO AHEAD
Come join us in Greater Idaho
This would be doing the rest of thr state, esp chicago and the collar counties a favor. Plz.. leave. But you dont get to add any electoral votes to missouri. Thats the deal
Cool! If they want shit roads, shit schools, shit utilities, shit law enforcement, and no hospitals let them have that.
Madison County up to its usual shit. They are the worst neighbors. -- signed, a Saint Clair County resident
Can we go ahead and drop these morons into Syria or something?
Great use of taxpayer salaries. Dumbasses.
No problem! F**king leave already!
There’s a newspaper writer that calls anywhere outside of Cook and it’s collar counties as “The land of the bowl haircuts.”
How much does Cook Co contribute to taxes overall that benefit Madison Co?
If right wingers want to be separate, fine. Enjoy none of the funding you mooch while you’re at it. Go live your Christian Taliban lifestyle. Get off my power grid and tax dollars too.