Three area counties are among 7 that will vote on whether or not Illinois should be split in two.
Illinois Separation, the main organization pushing the ballot initiative announced that Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Madison, Clinton, Perry, and Iroquois will vote on the issue of downstate separation on the November General Election ballot. The initiative received enough petition signatures in Greene and Calhoun counties. The Jersey and Madison County Boards both voted earlier this year to place the advisory referendum on the ballot.
Between 2020 and 2022, 26 downstate counties have voted in favor of the separation efforts. Despite the massive downstate push, the likelihood of downstate either being split into current existing states or made into a new state are very slim as it would require acts of the General Assembly and Congress for any of those options to be approved.