Latest news with #HouseBill1008
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: Indiana-Illinois border bill heads to Gov. Braun's desk
Good afternoon, Chicago. With final approval by the Indiana House yesterday, the Indiana-Illinois border bill passed both chambers of the Indiana legislature and heads to Gov. Mike Braun's desk for signature into law. Braun intends to sign the bill, said governor's office spokesman Griffin Reid. House Bill 1008, authored by Speaker Todd Huston, would establish a commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Bioethicists and conservationists are expressing unease with the kind of scientific research being pioneered by Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based company on a mission to bring back extinct animals. Read more here. More top news stories: Chicago employees of federal contractor oversight agency put on paid leave Chicago school board overturns firing of CPS worker accused of threats, harassment Since recreational cannabis was legalized in Illinois starting in 2020, sales of the drug have increased to $2 billion a year. The holiday this year has morphed into a weekendlong cultural celebration and a marketing event for businesses. Read more here. More top business stories: Evanston OKs site for student-built affordable home over neighbors' objections Loop 3-bedroom home with floor-to-ceiling windows: $1.7M Sometimes the planets mysteriously align and the top executives of our five legacy sports teams endure a crisis or two at the same time. This is one of those occasions. Read more here. More top sports stories: Michael Busch heats up for a Chicago Cubs offense looking to stay on a roll: 'He's making such good decisions' Photos: Northwestern beats Michigan 15-6 to clinch 3rd straight Big Ten title on 'Lacrosse Night in Chicago' 'Welcome to the Show' has been filling the backroom of The Getaway since its first episode last summer. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Review: 'Translations' at Writers Theatre plumbs the depths of a story of 19th-century Ireland Easter 2025: 70 Chicago restaurant specials, from brunch buffets to hearty dinners Students dropped off balloons, candles and teddy bears at a memorial this morning near Florida State University's student union. A 20-year-old opened fire Thursday on the campus, killing two men and wounding six others. Read more here. More top stories from around the world: 10,000 pages of records about Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 assassination are released, on Trump's order What to know about the court cases challenging President Donald Trump's immigration agenda
Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana-Illinois border bill heads to Gov. Braun's desk
With final approval by the Indiana House Thursday, the Indiana-Illinois border bill passed both chambers of the Indiana legislature and heads to Gov. Mike Braun's desk for signature into law. Braun intends to sign the bill, said governor's office spokesman Griffin Reid Thursday. When asked about the governor's response to the bill, Reid pointed to Indiana Secretary of Business Affairs Mike Speedy's testimony in favor of the bill while it was discussed in the House Government and Regulatory Reform committee in February. 'The Braun Administration wants to work hand in hand with the General Assembly to build a pro-growth, pro freedom, taxpayer friendly state, the most in the whole country here in Indiana,' Speedy testified. 'Illinoisans have noticed the stark contrast and they want freedom, a pro-opportunity, pro-business state.' House Bill 1008, authored by Speaker Todd Huston, would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states. If the bill becomes law, Braun would have to set the commission's first meeting no later than Sept. 1. On Thursday, Huston presented the bill before the House for final approval because it was amended in the Senate Public Policy committee. The Senate committee amended the bill to allow one more Indiana representative to the commission and, with that, give the commission a quorum to meet. Huston, R-Fishers, said he drafted the bill after learning that 33 Illinois counties have voted to secede from their state, including seven in November, since 2020. After the House voted 64-23 in favor of the bill, Huston said that Indiana is 'a great place to live, work, raise your kids and enjoy a high quality of life.' 'We welcome our neighbors in Illinois seeking lower taxes and more opportunity to join us in the Hoosier state. House Enrolled Act 1008 starts that conversation and I'm eager to see it become law.' G.H. Merritt, chairwoman of New Illinois, clarified in a House committee hearing in February that her organization is one of two in Illinois working toward seceding from Illinois and creating a new state, not necessarily joining an existing one like Indiana. 'Our goal is the constitutional formation of a new state separate from Illinois,' Merritt said. Indiana would have six commissioners and Illinois would have five commissioners, and a quorum of the commission consists of at least six members, according to the bill. The Indiana commissioners would be appointed by the governor, and the commissioners cannot be legislators. No more than four commissioners can be members of the same political party, according to the bill. The bill stipulates that the Indiana commissioners can serve a 4-year term that expires on June 30 of an odd-numbered year, and the members can be reappointed. Any commissioner who is not a state employee can receive per diem, mileage and travel allowances, while commissioners who are state employees can be reimbursed for travel expenses, according to the bill. Once the commission, which should meet at least once a year, reaches a recommendation on adjusting the boundary, its members will have 60 days to submit a written report to the general assembly, according to the bill. Finally, the bill states the commission's recommendation to adjust the boundary between Indiana and Illinois wouldn't take effect until approved by the Indiana legislature, the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Congress. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker brushed off the proposal — and fired back at the neighboring state — when he was asked about it at an unrelated news conference in January. 'It's a stunt. It's not going to happen,' Pritzker said. 'But I'll just say that Indiana is a low wage state that doesn't protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people in need, and so I don't think it's very attractive for anybody in Illinois.' A spokesman for Pritzker said Tuesday the governor's position on House Bill 1008 hasn't changed. But a companion bill has been filed in Illinois. Illinois State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, filed Illinois House Bill 1500 and it 'does similar things and is comparable to the Indiana bill,' he previously said. Illinois House Bill 1500 states that if Indiana House Bill 1008 becomes law then, within 60 days after receiving notice from the Governor of Indiana, the Illinois Governor should appoint five members to the Illinois-Indiana boundary adjustment commission. Indiana State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, asked Huston Thursday if Indiana should be taking in 33 counties, which research has found are poorer counties, as the state faces a revenue forecast shortfall of $2 billion in the next budget cycle. Huston said 'all of those considerations have to be considered.' 'You have to work through all the financial aspects of it, and certainly you'd want to look through the revenue impacts and expense impacts. It would all be open for that discussion. It would have to be considered,' Huston said. Michael Hicks, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, said he researched the 33 Illinois counties that have voted to secede and found that the residents in those counties pay about $2,986 per person in state taxes but receive $5,430 per person in state support. If the counties were absorbed by Indiana, the state would have to put up $2 billion per year to maintain the counties, Hicks said. 'It would cause us to be on average a poorer, less well-educated state. When you're adding poorer, less well-educated households to your state it's hard to really see big benefits from that,' Hicks said. The only benefits to Indiana absorbing those parts of Illinois would be in the 'small 'p' politics' category, Hicks said. Indiana would see a stronger Republican supermajority, Hicks said, because most of the 33 Illinois counties vote Republican. The move would add one or two seats in the Indiana delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is likely to lose seats in the 2030 census, he said. 'I think it's almost exclusively a political activity,' Hicks said. 'I'm sure the legislature would like to say, 'Look, Indiana as a state is fiscally sound relative to Chicago.' It's great to poke fun at that, but once you get past that fact, it's very difficult to come up with a big laundry list of things that Indiana is doing monumentally better.' Since the Indiana commissioners will have a quorum to meet, Hicks said sarcastically that the members should compare the Indianapolis Colts to the Chicago Bears and the Indiana Pacers to the Chicago Bulls. On serious matters, Hicks said as the commission looks at the fiscal differences between Indiana and Illinois, it's likely they will find the move will save Illinois about $2 billion a year but require Indiana to come up with $2 billion annually to support the counties. Hicks pointed to Indiana's Wednesday revenue forecast, which found in the upcoming budget cycle the state is projecting a $2 billion shortfall. 'If they're doing an honest job, they're going to learn some unhappy things,' Hicks said. GiaQuinta said House Bill 1008 'is a publicity play.' 'This is sort of gimmicky. We've got so many more important issues to worry about. It'll probably never happen,' GiaQuinta said.
Chicago Tribune
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana-Illinois border bill — criticized as ‘waste of time' — passes Indiana Senate
The Indiana-Illinois border bill was passed out of the Senate Tuesday with Democratic senators calling the bill a 'political stunt' and 'a waste of time.' House Bill 1008, authored by Speaker Todd Huston, would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states. If the bill becomes law, Gov. Mike Braun would have to set the commission's first meeting no later than Sept. 1. The bill was amended in the Senate Public Policy Committee earlier this month to allow one more Indiana representative to the commission and, with that, give the commission a quorum to meet. Under the amended bill, Indiana would have six commissioners and Illinois would have five. The amended bill also states that a quorum of the commission consists of at least six members. The bill passed the Senate 36-13, with three Republicans joining all 10 Democrats to vote against the bill. In a statement Wednesday, Huston said House Bill 1008 starts the conversation of shifting the border between Indiana and Illinois. 'Indiana is a great place to live, work, raise your kids and enjoy a high quality of life. We welcome our neighbors in Illinois seeking lower taxes and more opportunity to join us in the Hoosier state,' Huston, R-Fishers, said. Sen. Scott Baldwin, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said the bill was amended in committee 'in the highly unlikely event that Illinois doesn't participate in this measure' the commission can meet and discuss the border shift. 'We would have six members who would then be able to meet and report back to our governor as to the status, but they would also be able to function as it relates to communicating with the members of those 33 counties,' Baldwin said. Baldwin, R-Noblesville, said nearly three dozen Illinois counties have voted in recent years to leave the state. In November, seven Illinois counties — Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties — voted to secede from the state. Iroquois County is along the Indiana border, the remaining six counties are closer to Missouri. 'I've heard people say, 'this will never happen,' and maybe so,' Baldwin said. 'This is a matter of readiness not reciprocity. It's a political signal that we're willing to take on those 33 counties if they choose to do so.' To change a state line, the U.S. Constitution dictates that the Indiana legislature, the Illinois legislature and then Congress would have to approve the measure, said professor Paul Helmke ot the Indiana University Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The Illinois counties voted to 'succeed from the state of Illinois and join the state of Indiana,' Baldwin said, but Illinoisans who are leading the effort testified in a House committee that the breakaway Illinois counties would like to form their own state. G.H. Merritt, chairwoman of New Illinois, clarified in a House committee hearing in February that her organization is one of two in Illinois are working toward seceding from Illinois and creating a new state. 'Our goal is the constitutional formation of a new state separate from Illinois,' Merritt said. Baldwin outlined Indiana's benefits compared to Illinois including better fiscal management, lower taxes and business-free policies and better infrastructure services. Indiana has lower income tax, corporate tax, sales tax, cigarette tax and fuel tax, Baldwin said, as well as lower property taxes. 'Many residents in Illinois feel like they are donor communities for Chicago,' Baldwin said. 'They feel like our Hoosier values are more aligned with their values.' Indiana's unemployment rate is 1% lower compared to Illinois, Baldwin said. Further, Baldwin said Indiana has 'a strong sports legacy,' with NCAA basketball, Big Ten football and the Indy 500. 'It wouldn't happen overnight. We're just signaling to those Illinois counties that Indiana's open for business, and we'd be happy to accept them,' Baldwin said. Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, asked Baldwin if he contacted Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker if he would support the commission. Baldwin said he read in media reports that Pritzker is 'less than pleased with the measure,' so he doubted Pritzker would take his call. Pritzker brushed off the proposal — and fired back at the neighboring state — when he was asked about it at an unrelated news conference in January. 'It's a stunt. It's not going to happen,' Pritzker said. 'But I'll just say that Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn't protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people in need, and so I don't think it's very attractive for anybody in Illinois.' A spokesman for Pritzker said Tuesday the governor's position on House Bill 1008 hasn't changed. Even if Pritzker agreed, Taylor said with the research and discussions about shifting the border, as well as the required congressional approval, means the border wouldn't shift within his lifetime. 'This is a waste of time,' Taylor said. 'This is political. Stop playing games. Stop beating around the bushes.' Illinois state Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, filed Illinois House Bill 1500 and it 'does similar things and is comparable to the Indiana bill,' he previously said. Illinois House Bill 1500 states that if Indiana House Bill 1008 becomes law then, within 60 days after receiving notice from the governor of Indiana, the Illinois governor should appoint five members to the Illinois-Indiana boundary adjustment commission. Indiana 'just made history,' Halbrook said in a statement Tuesday, while Illinois House Bill 1500 still hasn't been given a hearing. 'But the tide is turning. Indiana's actions have energized this movement and validated what so many of us already know: our voices matter, and we have a right to be heard,' Halbrook said. Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said many Indiana residents 'think this is a joke,' and that the Indiana legislature should be focused on other issues. 'We have so many major policies to address rather than sending political signals that we want to absorb other counties and study whether or not they want to join us,' Qaddoura said. Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said House Bill 1008 is 'a political stunt.' Indiana's wages remain stagnant, health care remains 'among the most dire in the country,' and affordable housing 'is increasingly out of reach for working Hoosiers,' Yoder said. 'These are the challenges that should be front and center for our state legislature. Instead, Indiana statehouse Republicans have spent the better part of this legislative session, and even started our session, naming House Bill 1008 as a priority focused on the people of Illinois,' Yoder said. Yoder pointed to a Ball State University study, which found that if the 33 counties were their own state it would be the second poorest state in the U.S. The counties pay less than $3,000 in taxes annually, but they require more than $5,000 in government services per year, Yoder said. Hoosiers would have to pay an additional $2 billion in taxes to subsidize the cost, she said. Baldwin said he 'skimmed' at the Ball State study and that he did not agree 'with the assumptions that were made to generate the financial review.' 'If you're going to use Illinois finances and then compare them to Indiana finances you're pretty much off base already,' Baldwin said. 'The grass is always greener where you water it. We water it here in Indiana, that's why 33 counties want to come here. Indiana is open for business.' The bill will be sent back to the House for final approval because it was amended in the Senate.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Do Illinois breakaway counties want to become Hoosiers? Annexation bill nears finish line
MARSHALL, Ill. – Driving west from Central Indiana into Illinois, the farmhouses and crops seamlessly and namelessly blend into one with the occasional whiff of rotting manure, a sign of good things to come. There is no tourist station at the state line and the small 'Welcome to Illinois' sign is easy to miss if one is glancing at their GPS. About the only differences, people just over the border here in the capital city of Clark County will tell you, are the roads, especially the one leading into the state, I-70, a few miles from Terre Haute 'For whatever reason, they are terrible in Indiana,' said Tim Bloodworth, a local business owner. 'Otherwise you'd hardly notice.' High speed potholes aside, the likenesses are a major reason some Indiana legislators are so eager to explore whether Illinois border counties that voted to separate from the state want to become part of Indiana through annexation. House Bill 1008, which the Senate could vote on as early as Monday, would create an Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission charged with studying secession and transfer of counties from Illinois to Indiana. 'We want to open the doors if they want to come here,' Sen. Scott Baldwin, the Noblesville Republican who sponsored the bill, said at a recent legislative committee meeting. Whether disgruntled Illinoisans are willing to join is just one question. The larger question is whether it can be accomplished legislatively. Some lawmakers, in Clark County, which voted by a 3-1 margin to separate, are skeptical annexation or any other break-away dreams can succeed. 'Indiana cannot be as bad as Illinois, that is for sure, but it's a dead-end idea that will never be approved by the (Democratic-controlled Illinois) legislature,' said Mike Parsons, a Republican member of the board of commissioners of Clark County. Authored by House Speaker Todd Huston, the legislation could provide an alternative for those rural Republicans feeling disenfranchised in a state dominated by he Democratic Party. The bill already passed the House by a 69-25 vote in February and is up for a Senate vote on Monday. But redrawing this state boundary would be a monumental task that hasn't been accomplished since the Civil War era. It would require the approval of both state legislatures, governors and the U.S. Congress. Even lawmakers in the Illinois counties that voted by large majorities to separate say it has a slim chance of happening. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called the proposal 'a stunt," and even leaders of the two groups pushing for the split from Illinois insist they don't want to become part of Indiana, at least not now. 'The people did not vote to have their boards look into the possibility of joining Indiana, therefore the people have not given their consent to become Indiana,' said Loret Newlon, director of Illinois Separation Referendum. 'I think it is a non-starter,' said Doug Cochran, the Republican chairman of the Edgar County board, just north of Clark County, where 83% of people voted for the resolution. 'I would think our legislature has better things to do. Illinois has so many problems.' Edgar and Clark County are two of 33 in Illinois where voters approved the non-binding referendum for 'separating from the city of Chicago to form a new state and seek admission as such subject to the approval of the people,' according to the resolution. Downstate Illinois Republicans for years have been disgruntled with Democratic rule in the Illinois statehouse and top statewide offices, as well as Chicago's dominance of the political agenda. They blame what they consider high taxes, strict gun laws, excessive business regulation and a liberal approach to cultural issues on Chicago's influence. In that regard, it is the opposite of Indiana, which is ruled by Republicans who have neutered the impact of the state's biggest controlled cities, including Indianapolis, in which Democrats have majorities. In Marshall, with a population 3,800, it's the Democrats who say they are disenfranchised. Registered Republicans greatly outnumber Democrats, and the voters have elected a Republican for president every election except one since 1968. Todd Kuhn, the only Democrat on the Clark County Board, said there is enough political division and petty cultural trolling without Indiana piling on. The separation referendum, is 'a bunch of bull----.' Kuhn said. 'They (Republicans) do that kind of crap all the time. It's stupid as all get out,' Kuhn said. 'If they want to be part of Indiana they can jiggle their way across the border and move there.' Outside Kuhn's board chambers, Courthouse Square immediately evokes the country's history of separatism, or unity, depending on one's point of view, with a statue of President Abe Lincoln on the front lawn, stove top hat in hand. Lincoln made frequent stops in the county and tried cases there as an attorney, according to the city, and Marshall was the site of an extended dispute during the Civil War involving Union Army deserters. Most residents in Clark County are quite familiar with Indiana. Some work there or have gone to school there and regularly trek across the Wabash River to visit Terre Haute for shopping and meals. They said adjusting to the life-style in a new 'Illiana,' territory wouldn't be difficult, and many set their clocks to eastern standard time, in concert with Indiana, already. Even their sports allegiances are divided, with plenty of Indiana State University basketball fans and backers of the Colts and Pacers among them. "One thing I wouldn't mind is being on eastern time because my company does so much work there,' said Bloodworth, the roads critic, who owns a house painting company and is a Democratic Party official 'I'm tired of getting out to a job and everyone has an hour head start on me." Otherwise, he said, the idea of annexation was 'absolutely asinine.' 'Property taxes are probably lower in Indiana but so are wages, so any financial advantages is a wash,' Bloodworth, 65, said. Kuhn added that his son, a heavy equipment operator and union member, would make $8 less per hour if he worked in Indiana 'And if he goes on unemployment he gets twice as much here,' Kuhn said. But the rural lifestyle match is also tempting for some residents across the border, who say they could easily be spiritual, cultural and political BFF's with Hoosiers. The world's biggest gavel, rocking chair and teeter-totter in Clark County is a better fit with Southern Indiana's grain silos than the world's tallest buildings in Chicago. "The way I look at it is that Illinois has the highest taxes in the nation, and people are leaving this state in droves already,' said Lori Antrim, 56, who has owned an antique restoration business, Ovie's Attic, at the end of a dead-end dirt road in Marshall for 10 years. 'I am not a fan of Chicago. When I tell people I'm from Illinois the first thing I say is 'not Chicago.' But that is where all our taxes are going. We are country folks here. Why not be part of a state in which the people share our values?' Mike Murphy, 71, of Marshall, said people outside of Chicago feel forgotten by the governor 'He is just looking for ways to give our money away,' he said. 'Our vote doesn't matter." Bev Murphy, 68, Mike's wife, said they share 'morals' with the rural residents of Indiana, including a rejection of 'woke' ideology and even legalized marijuana — forbidden in Indiana — which she said creates more societal problems while solving few. At the Silo restaurant in Marshall, owner Hannah Spittler, 44, said she would likely support annexation because business regulation is so onerous in Illinois. She already takes regular trips to Indiana for supplies and other business, as well as entertainment. 'Absolutely, there are so many issues here, especially for small business growth,' she said. 'If it doesn't concern Chicago there is no consideration of us.' The Silo started out as a food truck called Roosters and, ironically, might still be operating if not for regulation, she said. 'I had to get permits for every county. They were taxing us to death,' Spittler said while giving a final look-over to a row of thick hamburgers for an early lunch rush. Now, she says, the restaurant on Michigan Avenue featuring ribeye sandwiches, brisket and steaks, is a destination restaurant for people from several states, including regulars from as far away as Lafayette. 'We are already supported by Indiana so it could be a perfect fit,' Spittler said. Colin Cliburn, then of Athens, Illinois, started the separation movement in 2018, as kind-of a lark, he said. He said he was looking to get into politics and searching for something that would make a splash but knew his pet issue, husband's rights, wouldn't get much traction. 'That's something I never told anyone,' he told IndyStar. The name Illinois Separation was snappy, drew attention and was a good way to send a message to Chicago about just how angry down-states were. Cliburn said he faced skepticism but that faded as his organizing on Facebook blossomed and he created a 'spiderweb' of 24,000 followers. 'When I first started, they said I was a radical loose cannon,' he said. 'My first meeting 10 people showed up. But a lot of people felt the same way, and I knew I had something people would be fired up and support. I always said I would do whatever it takes to save Illinois.' Downstate residents were upset with how their taxes were being spent by Chicago politicians during perennial budget crises while pension plans were severely underfunded, not to mention their penchant for landing in prison, he said. 'There is just a lot of frustration in Southern Illinois. Our hands are tied,' Cliburn said. In 2020, the first 26 county referenda passed, Cliburn said. Cliburn no longer has any connection with the movement, which continues and placed seven successful referenda on county ballots last Fall that garnered media attention, including notice by the Indiana legislators. Cliburn still supports the cause but said a separate state or annexation 'is never going to happen.' Part of the problem, he said, is 'our Republicans are dogs--t.' 'We'll probably never have a Republican governor again,' he said. Loret Newlin, a massage therapist from Newton Ill., not far from Clark County, was with Cliburn in the early days and continued pushing the referenda to the 2024 election. The group is now called Illinois Separation Referendum and has gathered interest from a total of 68 of the state's 102 counties, Newlin said. The ballot measures that have passed have done so with an average of 74% of the vote, she said. Another group, led by G.H. Meritt, of northwest Illinois, is called New Illinois, whose goal is forming an entirely new state. While the two groups don't work together, they work in concert and complement each other. Merritt was contacted by Huston's office last month and testified at a committee meeting about the group's work, where she told them that it doesn't want the state to be annexed by Indiana. 'We're glad they (Indiana) see us and recognize us, but we don't want to join Indiana, we want to split from Illinois and form our own state,' she told IndyStar. Newlin said her group voted to form a separate state and would entertain becoming part of Indiana if every county agrees to it in another vote. She said there is some support for being annexed. 'They might (vote yes), if given the opportunity through a different referendum, should the Indiana proposal be presented to the others,' she said. Indiana legislators say they will press forward, regardless. 'Things are better in Indiana than they are in Illinois,' Baldwin said. 'Rural Illinois counties align more with Indiana's policies as far as political and cultural issues.' Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at and follow on X/Twitter and Facebook. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Do Illinois separatist counties even want to become Hoosiers?
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Better in Indiana': Bill to absorb Illinois communities advances to Senate floor
Sen. Scott Baldwin presents on Illinois secession legislation in committee on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Legislation to study the absorption of secessionist Illinois counties heads to the Indiana Senate's floor after a 7-2 committee vote Wednesday. Companion legislation in the Prairie State is already dead, however. 'I'll just say this: things are better in Indiana then they are in Illinois,' said Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville. 'It's no surprise' people want to move. 'We want to open the doors if they want to come here,' Baldwin added. He is sponsoring House Bill 1008 — a priority for the House GOP — on its Senate journey. The proposal would create an Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission tasked with exploring the secession and transfer of counties that have already voted to leave the state of Illinois. Since 2020, 33 Illinois counties have passed 'advisory referenda' to leave the state — seven of those votes occurred in the most recent general election. As he clicked through a series of slides, Baldwin said Illinois residents like Indiana's lower taxes, balanced budget, 'great' road funding system, job opportunities and political representation. 'Many residents feel Chicago's policies do not align with their values,' he added. 'The Indiana General Assembly prides itself on being a body that serves its constituents.' Indiana stands to gain, according to Baldwin. He listed increased tax revenue, strengthened sports culture, political 'alignment,' and reduced Chicago influence. Democrats — who later voted 'no' — were skeptical. Sen. LaKeisha Jackson, D-Indianapolis, cited an analysis from prominent conservative economist Michael Hicks, who directs the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. Illinois secession bill passes first hurdle He found that the secessionist counties would be equivalent to the nation's second-poorest state. Adding them to Indiana would drop the state's per capita income. Baldwin said they're doing poorly 'in their current fiscal arrangement.' One pro-secession witness said the counties are 'held back by Illinois regulation and tax rates.' But a border shakeup is unlikely. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker previously called Indiana's legislation 'a stunt' that is 'not going to happen.' He'd need to bless the move, but companion legislation is already dead. Congress would also need to approve. Committee leader Sen. Ron Alting said a second witness had signed up as Pritzker himself. 'Is he here?' asked Alting, R-Lafayette, to laughter. House Bill 1008 was edited to add more commission members and require a first meeting by September. It heads to the Senate floor for further consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
