Politics
Illinois separation campaign adds 11 counties to 2026 advisory ballot push
Voters in 11 counties are expected to weigh whether their county boards should explore leaving Illinois to form a new state with counties outside Cook County. The non-binding questions would not trigger secession, which would require approval from both the Illinois General Assembly and Congress.
Eleven more Illinois counties are set to ask voters in the 2026 midterm election whether their county boards should explore forming a new state with counties outside Cook County, extending a campaign that has already won advisory votes in 33 counties, according to the group Illinois Separation.
The measures are non-binding. They ask county boards to correspond with other counties about the possibility of separating from Cook County and seeking admission to the union as a new state, subject to voters’ approval. Several townships in Adams County are also expected to consider similar questions. Ford County has a separate advisory referendum that Illinois Separation says is not affiliated with the group.
The 11 counties named for this year’s ballot are Piatt, Coles, Henderson, McDonough, Warren, Macoupin, Monroe, Washington, Hamilton, Saline and Gallatin. If all approve the questions, 44 of Illinois’ 102 counties will have voted in favor of exploring separation.
Loret Newlin, Illinois Separation’s director, said supporters believe their concerns are overlooked by state leaders. “This is our lived experience. We are ignored. We are not taken into consideration when they’re making a lot of the laws that hurt us,” she said.
The campaign has previously received support beyond the state’s southern and rural regions. In Iroquois County, south of Kankakee County, 73% of voters backed an advisory referendum. Newlin also pointed to Madison County, one of the state’s most populous, and said western counties joining the effort show it is not limited to one part of Illinois.
A favorable vote would be an early step, not a decision to leave the state. Under Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, creating a new state from territory within an existing state requires the consent of the state legislature as well as Congress. A spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker has previously called the separation effort a “stunt” and said it would not happen.
Supporters cite West Virginia’s creation during the Civil War and Maine’s separation from Massachusetts in 1820 as precedents. Illinois has also seen regional protest efforts: the “Republic of Forgottonia,” a coalition of 16 west-central counties, drew attention to disinvestment before abandoning its push. The effort helped bring renewed focus to transportation and infrastructure needs in the region, according to the Macomb Area Conventions and Visitors Bureau.
Newlin said counties near the Chicago area have asked about putting similar questions on future ballots. The campaign’s immediate test, however, will be whether voters in the 11 counties endorse asking their boards to explore the idea.