A bill to redraw the Indiana-Illinois border received initial approval Monday in an Indiana House committee, but the discussion opened up a Pandora’s box, with some of its Illinois supporters preferring to establish a new state and a Lake County representative suggesting that it could in turn secede from Indiana.
Indiana 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. The commission would include five members appointed by the Indiana governor and five members appointed under Illinois law.
Huston, R-Fishers, said he drafted the bill after he learned that 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.
Huston testified before the House Government and Regulatory Reform committee Monday about the ballot measure results. He also said that since the COVID-19 pandemic more than 100,000 people from Illinois have moved to Indiana.
Indiana has a balanced budget, a triple a credit rating, low debt, a growing economy and school voucher programs, Huston said. Illinois has an unfunded pension debt, high taxes and fewer options for school choice, he said.
“We don’t want to see our neighbors to the west languish. Ultimately, their success or failure affects our own success or failure,” Huston said. “To the Illinois counties and residents feeling unheard and unrepresented, we hear you and we’d like to invite you to come back home again to Indiana.”
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 Indiana University Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Paul Helmke.
www.chicagotribune.com
Indiana 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. The commission would include five members appointed by the Indiana governor and five members appointed under Illinois law.
Huston, R-Fishers, said he drafted the bill after he learned that 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.
Huston testified before the House Government and Regulatory Reform committee Monday about the ballot measure results. He also said that since the COVID-19 pandemic more than 100,000 people from Illinois have moved to Indiana.
Indiana has a balanced budget, a triple a credit rating, low debt, a growing economy and school voucher programs, Huston said. Illinois has an unfunded pension debt, high taxes and fewer options for school choice, he said.
“We don’t want to see our neighbors to the west languish. Ultimately, their success or failure affects our own success or failure,” Huston said. “To the Illinois counties and residents feeling unheard and unrepresented, we hear you and we’d like to invite you to come back home again to Indiana.”
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 Indiana University Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Paul Helmke.
Illinois secession bill passes out of Indiana committee, but even supporters aren’t totally on board
A bill to redraw the Indiana-Illinois border received initial approval Monday in an Indiana House committee, but some Illinois supporters prefer to establish a new state.
www.chicagotribune.com
