Indiana wants the 33 Illinois counties that have voted to secede

33 Counties have voted over the past few years to secede from the State of Illinois because of the oppressive tax policies and lack of services from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Indiana wants to absorb them

By Ray Hanania

FREE/Illinois, Indiana, excessive taxes, lack of services/Tuesday, February 11, 2025

In the November 2024 elections, seven Illinois counties approved resolutions to secede from the state of Illinois.

They joined another 26 Illinois counties that have previously voted to secede from Illinois, which is increasingly becoming one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to governance.

The seven new counties joining the “Illinois Secession Rebellion” are Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Iroquois, Jersey, Madison, and Perry counties.

33 Counties (designated in Yellow) have voted to secede from Illinois’ oppressive system of taxation and lack of services. The state is dominated by Cook County and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s failed policies. Indiana wants to absorb them. The bulk with the exception of only two can easily be absorbed geographically.

As of November 2024, the following 33 total counties have passed such referendums:

• Effingham County

• Fayette County

• Jefferson County

• Bond County

• Christian County

• Clark County

• Clay County

• Crawford County

• Cumberland County

• Edwards County

• Hancock County

• Jasper County

• Johnson County

• Lawrence County

• Marion County

• Massac County

• Moultrie County

• Pope County

• Richland County

• Shelby County

• Wabash County

• Wayne County

• White County

• Edgar County

• Hardin County

• Brown County

• Madison County (with separate votes in Leef and New Douglas Townships)

• Calhoun County

• Clinton County

• Greene County

• Iroquois County

• Jersey County

• Perry County

Indiana lawmakers are exploring that possibility led by Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston.

Some of the rebel counties have discussed forming their own state, becoming the 51^st American state. But most are located in central and southern Illinois, which are predominantly Republican.

Although all but two counties are geographically contiguous to Indiana, the remaining 31 are and can be absorbed geographically easily. Two counties could be linked by “umbilical cords” (Hancock and Brown counties on the west side of the state). Illinois politicians have gerrymandered many district boundaries to get what they want creating narrow umbilical cords to connect disparate regions to bolster their Democratic influence at the expense of Republicans.

One of the problems of course is that the voice of the Republican Party is based in Cook County and it has poor leadership and they are plagued by so many problems. They pose a problem for downstate Republicans. If the Republicans had a strong voice in Cook County they could create a front in the heart of the Democratic Machine to advocate for separation for the downstate rebellious counties. Those downstate counties can’t do it alone.

Technically, the real challenge goes beyond partisan politics or even being a Conservative or a Liberal, Democrat or Republican. The real issue is about improving lives and doing what Illinois’ governor, J.B. Pritzker, refuses to do, make the interests of his citizens the state’s priority.

The secessionists need to organize a campaign to advocate for their break from Illinois’ corrupt and failed gubernatorial leadership. More counties would join, especially those around Hancock and Brown counties, and they need leadership to elevate this from a county-by-county drive to a regional statewide drive to secede.

There are more than enough facts to justify breaking from Illinois.

Illinois is one of the worst states in the country when it comes to taxation.

Property Taxes – Illinois has one of the highest property tax rates in the country. As of recent years, it consistently ranks among the top three states with the highest property tax burdens.

Income Tax – Illinois has a flat income tax rate (currently 4.95%), which is lower than states with progressive tax brackets (e.g., California or New York) but higher than states with no income tax (e.g., Texas, Florida, Tennessee).

Sales Tax – The statewide base sales tax is 6.25%, but with local taxes, it can be much higher. Cities with 11.5 percent sales tax rates are Harvey, Harwood Heights, Matteson and Richton Park. Chicago, Orland Park, and several more Illinois cities have a 10.25% combined sales rate.

Gas Tax – Illinois has one of the highest gas taxes in the U.S., and it increases automatically with inflation.

Additionally, while politicians have taken care of themselves granting themselves generous pensions, they have had to tax everyone else to pay for those pensions.

Fearing angering the public, many public pension funds are underfunded, pushing off the debt for future generations so the politicians can collect their pensions now.

Illinois’ underfunded pension liabilities have grown to approximately $143.7 billion, up more than $1.5 billion from last year.

But it gets even worse.

Chicago and Cook County – often criticized as “Corrupt County” – control the state politically. They are overwhelmingly Democrat and they take a larger share of the taxes collected from downstate, which is predominantly Republican.

Much of that money goes to provide healthcare and public services to illegal aliens, individuals who illegally entered America and found homage in Illinois and other Democratic-controlled states and regions.

If Indiana House Speaker Huston can organize a strong legal effort to support those voters who want to exit the “corruption smog” that engulfs Illinois, those voters might rally around them to convince more counties to join, making it easier.

It will be a battle. But it is always a fight in Illinois for your rights. So what’s the difference?

The worst-case scenario, failing to secede, could still be a good one and force Illinois to stop sweeping its problems under the rug to keep many of its residents ill-informed. The move would elevate the issue of Illinois’ many failures and provoke a wider and stronger debate.

I doubt Indiana would want to absorb Chicago or Cook County, creating one state. But the rest of the state is worth saving.

It’s not easy but nothing good is easy. It will take effort. The 33 counties have started the process. I hope they continue. Worse case scenario their threat to secede could help further expose Pritzker’s failed leadership and maybe replace him with someone better, fairer, and less willing to punish the middle class.