Should Illinois become 2 states?
Sue Betts, left, 71, helps friend Sheri Schuler-Faust, 69, tuck her scarf into her collar so her message of “quit wasting our tax $’s” can be more easily read on Wednesday after a Madison County Board meeting in Edwardsville. Joshua Carter/Belleville News-Democrat
Earlier this year, the Madison County Board voted 15 to 7 to send a question to the local ballot pertaining to dividing Illinois into two portions.
This November, voters there will be asked:
"Shall the board of Madison County correspond with the boards of other counties of Illinois, outside of Cook County, about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state and to seek admission to the Union as such, subject to the approval of the people?"
Similar questions are going before voters in Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Iroquois, Jersey, and Perry counties and they’ll join at least 25 others that have already approved such a measure.
Today's show included a rebroadcast of the following "best of" segment, first aired April 29, 2024: "Should Illinois become 2 states?"