Madison County on Tuesday joined a growing number of downstate Illinois counties in passing a symbolic referendum to secede from the Chicago area and form a new state.
Voters approved the measure by 56.5% to 43.5%.
The Metro East County result is the first in a suburban region to support the idea, indicating that the movement transcends the urban-rural divide.
It seems to me that this movement is stronger than the governor thought it was. “He is not taking us very seriously and kind of making fun of us,” said Dave Stopher, who lives in Troy and led the charge to get the question on the ballot.
“This should send a very clear message to Springfield and Cook County,” they said.
In May, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois spoke out against the bill, saying that breaking away from the state should not even be an issue.
Pritzker said, “I just want to remind everyone here that we are one Illinois.” “Madison County is just as important to Illinois as Chicago is.” Also, it is too simple for partisanship and differences in where we live to separate us.
On Tuesday, the measure was also easily passed in six other counties: Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Iroquois, Jersey, and Perry. 33 counties have now voted in favor of these advisory referendums, which do not have any legal force.
All of them except Madison, which has about 265,000 people, have been rural counties.
Voters were asked if their county board should talk to other county boards about making a new state that is not part of Cook County, which is home to Chicago.
Even though officially leaving the state (secession) is still very unlikely, supporters of these referendums see them as an official poll that shows how unhappy people are with the direction of Illinois’ state government.