51st - Southern Illinois
January 8, 2024 at 9:32 p.m.
Editor, Times-Union:
The following is part of my continued series of letters on potential candidates for the 51st state in the Union. While a previous letter focused on the practicality or impracticality of single counties that could become new states. This letter will focus on potential new states made up of groups of counties in the state of Illinois.
Greater Chicago Area - this potential new state would include several Illinois counties outside of the Chicago city limits and Cook County, such as McHenry, Lake, Kane, Kendall, DuPage and Will County giving a land area of a small New England state and a population numbering in the millions.
Forgottonia - this includes about 10 to 14 counties in western Illinois that have been left out of significant infrastructure development.
Southern Illinois - so far as 2022, voters in 27 counties mainly centered in southern Illinois have expressed interest in forming their own state.
New Illinois - this would be essentially every county in the state of Illinois minus Cook County.
The idea of Chicago becoming its own state dates back to 1925 when the city threatened to form its own state because of an imbalance of representation in the Illinois state legislature between urban and rural counties. Of course, now rural counties feel there is an imbalance in representation which is a driving force behind the proposed states of New Illinois, Forgottonia (Western Illinois), and Southern Illinois.
So far none of these potential states are close to even having a realistic chance of convincing their state legislature to go along with the ideas of becoming a state let along Congress. Ten there are practical issues of lost population, territory, resources and tax revenues and having to recreate executive, legislative, judicial and bureaucratic branches of state government. When the underlaying issues for such discontent in these states needs to be better addressed and resolved.
One central issue is the representative between urban and rural counties. One person one vote will always continue for legislative districts but something has to be addressed with getting some form of representation for local and county unites of government in legislatures to partially balance things out.
Alexander Houze
Leesburg
Editor, Times-Union:
The following is part of my continued series of letters on potential candidates for the 51st state in the Union. While a previous letter focused on the practicality or impracticality of single counties that could become new states. This letter will focus on potential new states made up of groups of counties in the state of Illinois.
Greater Chicago Area - this potential new state would include several Illinois counties outside of the Chicago city limits and Cook County, such as McHenry, Lake, Kane, Kendall, DuPage and Will County giving a land area of a small New England state and a population numbering in the millions.
Forgottonia - this includes about 10 to 14 counties in western Illinois that have been left out of significant infrastructure development.
Southern Illinois - so far as 2022, voters in 27 counties mainly centered in southern Illinois have expressed interest in forming their own state.
New Illinois - this would be essentially every county in the state of Illinois minus Cook County.
The idea of Chicago becoming its own state dates back to 1925 when the city threatened to form its own state because of an imbalance of representation in the Illinois state legislature between urban and rural counties. Of course, now rural counties feel there is an imbalance in representation which is a driving force behind the proposed states of New Illinois, Forgottonia (Western Illinois), and Southern Illinois.
So far none of these potential states are close to even having a realistic chance of convincing their state legislature to go along with the ideas of becoming a state let along Congress. Ten there are practical issues of lost population, territory, resources and tax revenues and having to recreate executive, legislative, judicial and bureaucratic branches of state government. When the underlaying issues for such discontent in these states needs to be better addressed and resolved.
One central issue is the representative between urban and rural counties. One person one vote will always continue for legislative districts but something has to be addressed with getting some form of representation for local and county unites of government in legislatures to partially balance things out.
Alexander Houze
Leesburg