State lines rarely change.
If it were to happen, the process would get complicated. Extremely complicated.
Undaunted by the logistics, Indiana Republican state legislators are inviting counties in downstate Illinois to cut ties with the “Land of Lincoln” and join the Hoosier state.
That may seem like the stuff of coffeeshop debates, but not in Indiana.
Yes, House Bill 1008 — introduced in the Indiana General Assembly’s current session — would establish an “Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission” to essentially discuss the possibility of Indiana absorbing 33 Illinois counties, including three across the border from the Terre Haute region — Clark, Crawford and Edgar.
Those 33 counties got onto Indiana legislators’ radar because voters in those counties, in recent years, have endorsed non-binding referendums to explore secession from Illinois and Chicago to form a separate, 51st state — New Illinois.
Indiana lawmakers are seizing on conservative downstate Illinois counties’ long-running dissatisfactions with the more progressive Chicago region’s influence on state government. Their political differences involve state taxes, regulations and laws on guns, abortion, the minimum wage and other issues.
As Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston told the Indiana Capital Chronicle, “We think instead of seceding and creating a 51st state, they should just join us,” Huston said. Huston authored HB 1008.
“To all of our neighbors in the west, we hear your frustrations and invite you to join us in low-cost, low-tax Indiana,” Hutson also told the Indianapolis Star.
And after all, any culture shock to Illinoisans-turned-Hoosiers should be eased by Indiana’s state-line signs, which were revised in 2007 to remind visitors the state was “Lincoln’s Boyhood Home.” (Yes, Abe lived in Indiana from 1816 to 1830, before moving as an adult to Illinois.) That slogan was added to those signs during the tenure of former Gov. Mitch Daniels, who liked to jab Indiana’s neighbors to the west.
Indeed, the “Land of Lincoln” may be in the eye of the beholder.
Illinois’ Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker called House Bill 1008 “a stunt” and labeled Indiana a “low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers” or provide healthcare to people in need, “so I don’t think it’s attractive to anybody in Illinois.”
It’s complicated
Of course, Indiana’s offer to “just join us” sounds rather simple. It’s not.
“It’s not going to happen,” Paul Helmke of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs — and former three-term Republican mayor of Fort Wayne — said in a phone interview Wednesday.
“And if it moved forward, it would be complicated,” Helmke added.
There would be “a lot of tricky issues to consider,” he reminded.
Helmke pointed out a few:
• The last new states created from existing states were Maine in 1820 and West Virginia in 1863, involving political maneuvering related to slavery and the Civil War. So, it’s rare.
• For Indiana to absorb a chunk of Illinois, the requirements in Article 4, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution must be met. Congress and the Indiana General Assembly, both Republican controlled, would have to approve it, as well as the Democratic-controlled Illinois legislature. “It would require the consent of Illinois,” Helmke said, “and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”
• The states have different tax structures for property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes and others. Also, if any Illinois counties have received state loans, would they have to repay before leaving? Would Indiana absorb the debts?
• Legislative and congressional districts, and their present officeholders, would likely be affected.
• A deep economic-impact analysis of the switching Illinois counties would be needed. “Will they be contributing more to the Indiana economy or taking from the Indiana economy?” Helmke said.
• For two centuries, Indiana and Illinois have shared access to an important natural resource, the Wabash River, which serves as the state line from Terre Haute southward.
“There’s a lot of complications,” Helmke said. “Not gonna happen.”
Jeffrey Ashley, political science professor at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, also said an Indiana expansion into Illinois is not likely to happen.
“If it did, those seeking to do it might be sorry for what they wanted,” Ashley said last week. “There are studies showing that more money flows out of Chicago to support the rest of the state [primarily downstate rural communities] than the other way around.”
A 2018 analysis by Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute calculated that taxpayers in Cook County (home to Chicago) got a 53-cent return in services for every tax dollar they paid. Taxpayers in Chicago’s rim counties got back 90 cents in services for every tax dollar. By contrast, taxpayers in central Illinois received $1.87 worth of services for every tax dollar, and southern Illinois taxpayers got a $2.81 return.
The Chicago region accounted for 89.5% of Illinois’ entire gross domestic product and 77% of total wages in the state, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Illinois Economic Report. More than half of Illinois’ residents live in the Chicago metro region.
Groups advocating for downstate counties to separate from Chicago have disputed the Simon Institute’s findings.
Some interested, others not so much
Rex Goble chairs the Board of Commissioners in Clark County, just across the stateline from Vigo and Sullivan counties in Indiana. Goble hadn’t heard about Indiana’s proposal to establish the boundary reevaluation commission, which would include five governor-appointed Hoosiers and five Illinois members. But Goble understands the dissatisfactions of many downstate residents, who see the Chicago area holding an outsized influence on decisions.
“Most of our people feel like they have no control, like they’re being controlled by the votes of the northern area around Chicago,” Goble said this week.
As for the concept of Clark and other downstate counties becoming a part of Indiana, Goble said, “I really haven’t thought about it. I can see the perks both ways.”
If Indiana’s boundary reevaluation commission wanted to talk with the Clark County commissioners, “I imagine our board would listen,” Goble said.
State Rep. Brad Holbrook, a Shelbyville Republican whose Illinois House district includes parts of Edgar County, introduced an unsuccessful bill in 2020 to split the state into two. Last week, Holbrook said he’s “particularly interested” in Indiana’s proposal.
“I find the recent filing of Indiana House Bill 1008 to be a noteworthy development,” Holbrook said via email. “This proposal to discuss the potential adoption of several Illinois counties signifies an acknowledgment from our neighbors to the east about the pressing need for reform in Illinois — a need I have passionately supported.”
Holbrook added, “I am eager to initiate discussions with interested parties from both Illinois and Indiana, aiming for outcomes that honor the integrity of our communities and respond to the needs of our citizens.”
Craig Smith is in his sixth term as mayor of Paris, the Edgar County seat. With that experience, he understands the politics behind Indiana’s “land grab” proposal. Instead, Smith is focused on the economic progress in Paris — a city of 8,039 residents — and emphasizes the benefits of its working partnership with the state.
“We had one of the largest growths, percentage-wise, of any county in Illinois,” Smith said Friday. “There’s no way I would want to turn our back to a state that’s been so good to us in terms of employment and housing.”
Smith cited the local job opportunities, housing additions, upgrades by Paris businesses (such as the bowling alley), and strong industries like North American Lighting, GSI and others. The city aims to improve its parks in 2025, including new restrooms, miniature golf and boat docks at Twin Lakes.
State tax credits and grants have helped Paris, he said.
“The state of Illinois has been very good to us and has been a working partner with us,” Smith said.
And Indiana’s pitch to absorb Edgar County and dozens of others? Smith said, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
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