According to state Republicans, Indiana may very well be on its way to annexing southern Illinois. On Mar. 17, the Indiana State House of Representatives voted 64-23 to pass HB 1008, a bill establishing an “Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission.” The bill, passed along party lines, was authored by Republican Speaker Todd Huston and sponsored by seven other Republicans in the General Assembly. The bill has now been sent to Governor Mike Braun’s Desk, where it is expected he will sign it into law.

The bill is a culmination of efforts by state leaders to try and paint Indiana as an alternative to southern Illinois counties. The bill, when signed, would form a boundary commission with six seats for Indiana and five for Illinois; conveniently, only six members are required to reach a quorum. Meanwhile, a companion bill in the Illinois Legislature has been introduced by the state’s Republicans.

Since 2020, 33 Illinois counties have voted to look into seceding from the state, due to the dominance of Chicago’s metropolitan area over the state’s politics. Despite southern Illinois being firmly Republican, the state legislature has been a consistent Democratic supermajority in both houses, along with a Democratic Governor. Since 2010, Republicans have only won two statewide offices. This is mainly due to 40% of Illinois’s residents living within Cook County.

It’s due to Cook County’s domination of state politics that many conservative residents feel alienated, and fairly so in some cases. Illinois is among the most gerrymandered Democratic states in the country. According to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, the state’s congressional map received an F grade, as did the state senate map, although the state house map did receive a B.

Political differences aside, rural Illinois and Chicago’s regional and cultural differences are significant. Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States by population, often prioritized over rural counties that have only a fraction of the population of Chicago.

It’s for these reasons that many of the counties have voted to leave Cook County behind, and it’s not a new movement. Since the 1860s, proposals have been made for southern Illinois to part ways with Chicago, and in some cases, advocates have even proposed forcing Chicago out of the state.

However, many of these counties are reliant on Illinois and especially Chicago. Chicago brings in a significant chunk of the state’s tax revenues, and many of these counties receive that money. These southern counties pay around $2,986 per person in taxes, but will be receiving around $5,430 per person in state investment

Let’s be clear, though, the idea of Indiana annexing southern Illinois is not just dumb, it’s pure delusional. The first and foremost obstacle to any annexation is the US Constitution. To change the borders between states, both states must agree to the change, as well as Congress. Both Indiana and Congress are Republican, but Illinois is not. Governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker called the bill a “stunt”, saying, “It’s not going to happen.”

Advocates for southern Illinois aren’t even fully supportive of joining Indiana. New Illinois, one of the primary organizations advocating for secession, stated that their organization is focused on creating a new state, not joining an existing one, such as Indiana.

So, what is the reasoning behind a push that state leaders should know is impossible? As mentioned earlier by Governor Pritzker, it’s a stunt not based on facts. It’s pure petty politics by the state government to make the state look more attractive, it’s essentially a giant advertisement for the state’s comparatively lower taxes compared to Illinois. So while Indiana faces serious issues, the state legislature remains distracted by political theater.

But let’s entertain political fantasy for a moment, and say somehow Indiana does indeed gain these new counties, what exactly do we gain?

In the upcoming budget cycle, Indiana is forecasted to have a deficit of $2 billion. Indiana is in no place to be picking up new counties. As mentioned earlier, many of these counties are poorer and rely on state investment, and that’s with Illinois’s higher taxes. Indiana would have to come up with an additional $2 billion to support these counties. The state is not left with many options, you’d either have to cut services, raise taxes, or live with the debt, all unpopular options.

All you’d end up with is an on average poorer and less-educated state; the only actual benefit is that the Indiana Republican Party would now have an even larger supermajority in the state legislature. This bill reads less like a well-thought-out plan and more like a political stunt designed to somehow make Indiana look more attractive to conservatives.