• Secession From Illinois Is in the Air

    From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Sat Feb 8 14:23:04 2025
    "As states grow more politically polarized, the difference between good
    and bad governance is coming into sharper relief for voters. Enough
    people are noticing in Illinois that some counties want to secede from
    the Land of Lincoln and join a state that isn’t ruled by public unions
    and their political yes-men.

    In November, to little national notice, seven Illinois counties voted to consider seceding, and now Indiana is rolling out the welcome mat.
    Voters in Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties approved a nonbinding ballot question on cutting ties with
    Illinois. The votes weren’t close. Six of the seven counties approved
    the advisory question by more than 70%. Iroquois County’s vote was some
    72%, and Calhoun County’s near 76%.

    Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston says the Illinois counties would be
    more than welcome to come on over. On Jan. 14 the Republican introduced legislation to establish the Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment
    Commission, which would include five members appointed by the Indiana
    Governor and five members appointed under Illinois law, to discuss
    moving the state line. “We think instead of seceding and creating a 51st state, [Illinois residents] should just join us,” Mr. Huston said.

    The attraction is obvious for Illinois residents. The nearby table
    provides a tale of the tape on some quality of governance and ease of
    doing business comparisons. Both states have flat individual income
    taxes, but Indiana’s rate is 3.05% compared to 4.95% in Illinois. The corporate tax rate in Indiana is 4.9% compared to 9.5% in Illinois."

    https://www.wsj.com/opinion/illinois-counties-secession-vote-indiana-j-b-pritzker-todd-huston-5a93d624?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)