A week ago Sunday, over 1500 like-minded downstate Illinoisans filled to overflowing the Effingham Performance Center to hear the latest about how Chicago Leftists in the State Capitol are ramming through radical gun control and abortion policies, forcing public school children to study historic figures based on their sexual orientation, and taking money out of their wallets while stealing basic Constitutional rights.
The frustration and resentment of Chicago political powers forcing their Leftist worldview on voters that supported Donald Trump in 2016 was palpable among the 1500 gathered as speaker after speaker tackled the issues.
That was especially true when State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) asked the crowd midway into the program, “Who wants to separate from Chicago and Cook County?” The crowd stood and cheered in response. […]
“Everything that matters to the people in my district is under attack,” Halbrook told Illinois Review this week. “The issue of life, the issue of marriage, the school curriculum. Everything these people hold near and dear to their hearts - our hearts - is under attack by far left legislators from the city.”
Three downstate freshman state legislators - Rep. Darren Bailey, Chris Miller & Blaine Wilhour - rented the Center for a town hall, and within two weeks, over 1500 people gathered on a Sunday afternoon to hear what was going on in Springfield. Halbrook was invited to address the crowd.
Halbrook said he introduced the resolution at the urging of Gina Merritt of New Illinois - a separation group from the northern part of Illinois that has been working with Paul Preston of New California. The movement is catching on downstate under the leadership of Effingham County Board member Dave Campbell, who first introduced the Second Amendment Sanctuary county resolution last April.
On the same day hundreds of pro-life supporters rallied inside the state’s Capitol to protest abortion bills, the Illinois Family Institute quietly deleted a Facebook post and website article which compared Democrats to Nazis.
Despite the backlash and its decision to take down the post, the group’s executive director is defending its content.
“You cannot help but connect the torturous ways that human beings were treated in Nazi camps in the way that pre-born babies are being treated in the women’s womb,” David Smith told the Sun-Times Thursday.
Smith told the Sun-Times he took down the post “because people aren’t getting past the headline.”
“It’s becoming a distraction so I took it down, until we can come up with a better headline or flesh it out,” Smith said.
“It asked the question, Democratic politicians and Nazis, is there a difference? And considering the abortion holocaust that our country is going through and the push for extreme late abortion legislation, we were asking the question,” Smith said.
During his Effingham speech, Smith said “Southern Illinois has to be heard,” then quoted anti-Nazi minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer “who stood up to Hitler” and who said, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.”
* Related…
* Jettisoning Chicago has always been a dubious proposition: Cook County - where Chicago is located - gets back just 80 cents for every dollar it sends the state, according to the study. But Halbrook’s own Shelby County gets back $1.44 for every dollar it sends. Clay County, where Bailey is based, gets back $1.84.
The Illinois GOP that was once thoughtful, intelligent to policy and politics, and understood the value of this entire state as a whole is long gone… when (insert any if the banned words of *your* choice) like these three are allowed to seemingly be welcomed as GOP “members of distinction”
They are embarrassments to Lincoln, the history of the Republican Party, and are pathetic little thinkers.
I’m a Chicago/Cook resident and I absolutely, unequivocally, non-ironically support this. I am 100% in favor of making Cook County its own state and will gladly endorse this proposal and work with these downstaters to get it enacted.
As for debts, we’ll divide them up based on where they live. Any SERS, TRS, GARS, JRS or SURS beneficiaries living in Cook County - we’ll cover. You get the rest. We’ll divide the bill backlog proportionately based on population. You can even keep the name. Good luck and if you feel like coming for a visit you’re always welcome.
If metro Chicago gets sick of this and cuts off the rest of the state they are huge trouble. Southern Illinois will make Mississippi look like Monaco.
- Former Downstater - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:04 pm:
“Everything that matters to the people in my district is under attack. The issue of discrimination, the issue of not having school shootings, the school curriculum. Everything these people hold near and dear to their hearts - our hearts - is under attack by far right legislators from the country.”
uffda i’m embarrassed to be from downstate. The willful mis-education and political grandstanding by these Reps is shameful. Without Cook County southern Illinois would be Mississippi with worse roads and colder winter
Any more, scratch a Republican, get a white nationalist.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:16 pm:
They want a wall? So there are checkpoint Charlies ready to shoot Cook County residents if they cross into New Illinois or whatever it will be called?
- NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:16 pm:
Please no, because then I will have nothing but “woke” Democratics who are in charge. As a Cook County resident it’s bad enough currently but if it’s just Cook then you can really kiss us goodbye.
=== When push comes to shove, does anyone really think the collar counties are sticking with the downstate? ===
I think once everyone who supports this gets a nice look at what income, sales and property tax rates would have to be to maintain the same revenue they’d revolt against the revolting revolters.
Like @The Captain above, I too am a Chicago resident and too believe a split is necessary. Frankly mega-metro areas like New York City, LA, Detroit et al likely need the same sort of separation. The needs of these areas and the states where they exist are usually vastly different.
The beliefs, we can leave off for now - but those too typically differ, in many cases to a 180 degree difference.
But the needs, taxation, densities, education, work, minimum wages, all of these things differ. Someone making $70,000 annually anywhere 90 minutes outside of Chicago metro can live well. That same salary in Chicago barely gets you by.
Go for it. Obviously walls are unnecessary but as stated, debts, obligations and taxes need to be sorted out. Not to mention the pension elephant in the room.
We get the collar counties too. Illinois will be Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. They’ll get the rest in West Illinois. It’ll be like Virginia and West Virginia. Brexit…no Illexit.
And Oakbrook can be our new capital. I’m seeing a pleasant future for the northeast.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:34 pm:
==I don’t foresee that being much of a problem tbh.==
I don’t either. I don’t think anything much is going to happen because most people in Illinois have common sense.
But it would be interesting if some reporter asked Brad Hallbrook what he had in mind with the wall. Will people from other states need a passports? How will the wall be enforced? How much in new taxes will the new state have to raise on its residents to build it? Will there be walls around the other states? Will people have to get tourist visas?
Maybe is we had State Reps who could actually put forth and work on real solutions to the problems we do have, they would have less time to blow hot air about something that they know is useless and a terrible idea. Make better use of your time and work on real, achievable goals, one step at a time and maybe the Republican Party might be relevant again. Keep putting on these shows and you will continue to lose support across the state.
I also support building the wall around Effingham. The smaller size means it will be faster and easier to construct. Cheaper, too, with none of that pesky union labor getting its nose in anyone’s business.
The only hard part will be getting anybody to notice it once it’s up.
- northsider (the original) - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:37 pm:
Still more proof of the resurrection of the Know-Nothing party.
- northernwatersports - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:42 pm:
I’M ALL IN !!
Where do I sign up to help and donate some campaign money to?? Lets part ways with those socialist Chicagoans.
When were finished we’ll control our own destiny and our own communities.
Wait….I pay $1 to the State now…Chicago gets 80 cents for the dollar they pay…and I get $1.84 back….that deal goes away if I get divorced from Chicago??
===Apparently the recent attacks in New Zealand have had no effect on any of these yahoos.===
The rally took place March 10th. The New Zealand shootings happened March 15th.
- IllinoisCitizen - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
Why stop there? Let’s not mess with the number of stars. Chicago and northeastern Illinois become the State of Chicago. We can divide up the rest of the state. MetroEast goes to Missouri. Southern Illinois can go to Kentucky or become an exclave of Tennessee. Anything east of I-57 becomes Indiana. Wisconsin comes and takes the northern tier. Iowa gets western Illinois and Forgottonia. Then everyone can fight for Peoria and Springfield. There. No need to sew new flags.
===include all the costs of the prisons in a particular county===
Think those counties would rather not have the jobs?
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
==Hate speech lol. Just because you disagree doesn’t make it hate speech.==
I don’t know if hate speech is the right phrase. But if I wanted to sell state separation I would use an amicable divorce as a model. We grew apart. We’d be happier going our separate ways. We’ll always be friends. Not Hilter talk and talking about walls. It’s almost like Halbrook, Miller, Smith, et al are trying to repulse people. And they’ll succeed. Most people don’t think the tin foil hat and Napoleon jacket is a good fashion choice.
=== - Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:03 pm:
===include all the costs of the prisons in a particular county===
Think those counties would rather not have the jobs? ===
Absolutely not. But don’t act like all that money was borne out of the goodness and generosity of Cook County without any strings attached. Almost half the prison population committed their crimes in Cook County.
- The Dude Abides - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:11 pm:
SMH Downstate Conservative politicians have fed into this nonsense for years that Chicago is the root of most of what is wrong with Illinois. We’d be in a pretty hopeless situation downstate without the economic output of Chicago. Of course many GOP downstaters refuse to believe that truth.
The GOP can no longer sell it’s policy so it sells hate. Unfortunately, there are too many buyers who don’t understand the economic harm they’re doing to themselves.
:: We’d be in a pretty hopeless situation downstate without the economic output of Chicago. ::
Nonsense. There are plenty of states smaller than what downstate Illinois would be, and most are doing just fine, certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now.
==Three downstate freshman state legislators - Rep. Darren Bailey, Chris Miller & Blaine Wilhour==
So no one is going to ask Leader Durkin to defend or explain this? Illinois media will just shrug off this one off, since they have no power? I can guarantee you if these were AA reps holding events in Chicago to denigrate the “dumb hillbillies” in places like Effingham and comparing them to Nazis, Madigan wouldn’t be able to step out of his office without being surrounded by so-called journalists demanding action be taken like censure and/or removal.
Where you at on this, Jim boy? I have to ask since the supposed “liberal media” won’t do it.
===There are plenty of states smaller than what downstate Illinois would be, and most are doing just fine, certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now.====
Mississippi
Alabama
West Virginia
Arkansas
I’ll let you pick.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:24 pm:
I had a fairly nice time when I went down to southern IL in 2017 to watch the eclipse.
I planned to go back this summer and see some of the things I learned about when driving through, like the surprising amount of wineries in the area.
Since these people are loudly speaking out that they think I’m part of the problem, I’ll just have to cancel my plans and take my travels elsewhere.
There’s also another eclipse coming in the same area in a few years. I won’t be booking any hotel rooms in southern IL, and will adjust my viewing location accordingly to another state.
I’m all for the downstate wall as long as there is a gate that can let me get to the Firefly Grill once in a while. BTW, do they realize how many tax dollars flow south from the Chicago metro area?
===There are plenty of states smaller than what downstate Illinois would be, and most are doing just fine, certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now.====
Mississippi
Alabama
West Virginia
Arkansas
I’ll let you pick. ===
Interesting in that those are some of the states luring most of our best and brightest college students.
In the world does not recognize Halbrook as a nutbucket? The guy has absolutely NO IDEA about how to represent his constituency - by the way, and seriously…this will NEVER happen, not ever…why not try to pass something that will help your region instead of making it look like you are so dense you couldn’t carry anything reasonable?
No Flynn’s Mom Firefly is off limits to all Northern Aggressors. s/
It is a treasure of southern Illinois.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:39 pm:
==Hate speech lol. Just because you disagree doesn’t make it hate speech.==
Well when you compare people to Nazis and want to build a physical barrier to keep them from mingling with you, that isn’t just “agreeing to disagree”. That’s hate.
But to sell something that would take a lot of votes it would make sense make your case to appeal to as many people as possible. Hallbrook, Bailey, Miller, Wilhour, and Smith are doing the opposite. They are repulsing as many people as possible with the Hilter rhetoric and the wall talk. So I’m curious, I’ve seen the Producers. What is the angle? What is the grift?
This is what happens when you put a mic in front of the new guys. Maybe sit down and learn some basic economics of state funding before proposing something that directly harms your constituents.
One of the saddest things about grifts is seeing how so many people love being grifted.
You’re being played for a fool and you either don’t know or don’t care.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:54 pm:
===We will try and persevere===
No you won’t. You will make up the difference dollar for dollar out of your own pocket, making your local problems continue to get worse.
An acquaintance belongs to a wine club, who purchased over 10k in wine for their restaurants from a winery down there after I mentioned it to them. It wasn’t the best wine, but it was a nice local touch and a good way to support our neighbors in the state. I doubt he will be amused by this either.
Telling your customers you don’t want to be associated with them isn’t a very good long term plan.
If Rep. Halbrook would like a better climate, he’d find a home in extreme Northern California, i.e., the State of Jefferson. Same type of numbers, but no humidity / wind chill to deal with.
I think comparisons to other states would also need to take into account population density, sizes of cities, wealth and resources. Plus, you would need to look at what policies the new state wants to implement. Probably not right to compare it to Connecticut, for example.
New Illinois’s largest city would be Aurora or Rockford, depending on who gets to keep the collar counties. Those would be about half the size of Louisville and 1/3 the size of Portland or Oklahoma City, for example. Maybe Iowa is the best analogue? But they have the dreaded progressive income tax, and their top bracket starts at like $70,000.
- El Conquistador - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:13 pm:
Southern IL has gone full on hillbilly… embarrassing to say the least.
- btowntruthfromforgottonia - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:14 pm:
Mississippi and West Virginia are doing just fine?
Since when??
How foolish. Too bad they cannot separate. I live in the collars and would prefer Cook and the collars were not financing these folks. Their minority views are not characteristic of the states’ population. Then again, most people live in Cook and the Collars.
- Medvale School for the Gifted - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:15 pm:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Please, please, please release HR101 from Rules Committee and let the sponsor call the resolution.
Thank you,
Your Friends in the Gallery
Are these reps affiliated with Dan Proft? Who is behind the curtain? Halbrook and his crew are pawns.
Who backed these guys? Where did their political money come from?
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:36 pm:
“certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now”
For years downstate has been taking more than it pays in. If anyone should be outraged, it’s us. Have some class and pay what you owe.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:36 pm:
They realize that Illinois would lose representatives in Congress with their idea don’t they?
They also realize that it takes more than the ILGA approving a resolution don’t they?
Or did they leave that out so they could make funnies about putting a wall around Chicago and Cook County?
Interesting to play this out and all in jest of course. But where would Chicago and Cook County send its garbage and solid waste sewage? Even if downstate Illinois decided to stop sending food (a large metropolitan area like Chicago/Cook would exhaust its food supply in about 3 days.) other states like Wisconsin and Michigan might continue supply it. But I doubt they would be willing to take their…..well you get the idea. These same problems present themselves when Democratic Presidential hopefuls start to talk about doing away with the Electoral College. Virtually all of the food and water in this country is produced or exists in the watersheds in the flyover states. Come to think of it, most of the members of the armed forces also hail from there. Again, interesting.
- former southerner - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:55 pm:
I see my home state of Mississippi has shown up in several comments and it is funny that if you substitute upstate Mississippi for downstate IL you get similar views.
I am from Gulfport and just as taxes from Chicago subsidize downstate Illinois, taxes from the three prosperous coastal counties subsidize the northern part of the state largely populated by those who have great disdain for the coastal tourist/government employed/gambling godless people.
People are tribal regardless of their state of residence.
- VerySmallRocks - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:09 pm:
I would favor these reactionary bigots just picking up and moving to kindred states like Kentucky or Mississippi where they can revel in unpaved roads and outhouses.
=Even if downstate Illinois decided to stop sending food (a large metropolitan area like Chicago/Cook would exhaust its food supply in about 3 days.) =
You may want to do some research there, this isn’t feudal England. Chicago’s metro (and every place else) gets food from all across the globe. How do you think we get fresh produce in the winter? Carbondale?? Yikes.
What port of call will New Poverty get it’s goods through? I imagine the fees for goods headed south will be steep.
=No OW, I’ll let you pick. Downstate easily has 4 million people:=
Whew, some whoppers out there today gang.
Use the google and see the map of the state counties, you can get one the shows each counties population.
Spoiler alert- you are going to be disappointed when you find out you are living in a state 2/3rds the size of South Dakota with no resources and astronomical taxes.
===Spoiler alert- you are going to be disappointed when you find out you are living in a state 2/3rds the size of South Dakota with no resources and astronomical taxes.===
Welp, they should be happy we can’t and won’t let this all go.
=You may want to do some research there, this isn’t feudal England. Chicago’s metro (and every place else) gets food from all across the globe. How do you think we get fresh produce in the winter? Carbondale?? Yikes.=
Gosh, you obviously missed “in jest”. Sheesh, John Stuart Mill, even his depressed state, probably had something of a sense of humor.
- The Dude Abides - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:43 pm:
@RedIllinois, You just nicely demonstrated my point.Just keep believing that false narrative.
Rte 40, Mr. Halbrook’s top 4 financial contributors in 2016 were the Bruce Rauner Campaign Committee ($53K) and Dick Uihlein, Bruce Rauner and Diana Rauner $5.4K each). His tactic of dividing urban vs rural and secular vs non-secular is part of the playbook the GOP often uses. Halbrook’s long term goal is to implement a right leaning economic agenda, most notably anti-labor policies. While much more refined than Halbrook, Scott Walker did the same in Wisconsin (Milwaukee / Madison vs the rest of the state). Shortly after Walker was elected, with a GOP controlled legislature, Act 10 was passed, Wisconsin approved RTWFL and repealed or diminished prevailing wage laws while providing tax breaks that mostly benefited the wealthy. This is Halbrook’s vision for IL and he is willing to play the bigoted “God, Guns and Gays” and tired Chicagoland vs. Downstate card in pursuit of such.
- The Dude Abides - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:52 pm:
“Interesting in that those are some of the states luring most of our best and brightest college students.”
Yep, when you have a previous Governor who refused to fund our Universities that’s what you get. Now that he’s been shown the door there’s hope that trend might change.
If the fine folks of Southern Illinois would like to leave, I could get behind that with a simple caveat. Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri should be plenty red for them. If any of those states would like to annex any of our southern counties, I would support that. They don’t get new state status, however.
I am not sure that the fine folks south of I-64 would get too many offers, though.
- someonehastosayit - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 6:05 pm:
Someone might ask Bailey, Wilhour and Halbrook how their stance squares with the oath of office they each took to support the Constitution of the State of Illinois. But then again, there is that “to the best of the ability” clause so maybe that’s an out.
- lost in the weeds - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 6:34 pm:
If they want to get rid of things (taxes and pensions) imposed on them by outside forces they should secede from the United States so they can get rid of that pesky constitution and DC influences. Just being another state that is subject to federal requirements will not solve the problem they have. Ask other states.
I would love to see downstate break away. Cook County gets to keep all of its own sales and income tax revenue and nothing for downstate. Let’s see how well they do.
Embarrassed to say I live in Effingham. Recently I was walking down a street and what I saw from a street corner pretty much sums up thinking downstate: Two yard signs — one for a pro-life group, one for a local gun range — and in the background, the mega-cross that stand alongside I-57/70. People never fail to amaze me.
It is the same as Pate Philip’s decrying Chicago and Cook County as a “rat hole” and claiming that sending money to these areas was throwing good money away. This was back in the day when Du Page was Republican through and through.
- crazybleedingheart - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 9:24 pm:
==Dear Mr. Speaker,
Please, please, please release HR101 from Rules Committee and let the sponsor call the resolution.
Thank you,
Your Friends in the Gallery==
Hard agree. Put it up on the board.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 10:29 pm:
Thank you, ILGOP, for not condemning this. This shows many people that their political futures look much better as your prospects look bleaker. The ILGOP is the party of Trump and this kind of foolishness, and the party of protecting the rich even if 97% get a tax cut. Good luck with that image, after the 2018 election shellacking. And thank you, on behalf of many who will fare better running against you.
Oh, what an idea…the State of Chicago and Illibama….nice, Chicago wins big and downstate would have to double their taxes as no more Chicago money to pay for their teacher’s pensions and the rest the keeps downstate from coming another Alabama
Now that everyone’s got their backwards redneck jokes out of their systems, can anyone acknowledge that there’s apparently some level of dissatisfaction among non-Chicago residents regarding perceived loss of liberties?
Last night I took the time to watch the entire rally. The most impactful aspect is the audience Q&A at the end, which almost to a question revealed just how politically naive the followers are. I don’t blame the followers but the people who lead them astray should be held accountable. I just lost all my respect for these downstate deceivers.
Southern Illinois won’t fail in traditional terms.
They will immediately deregulate all coal regulations and start pulling tons of coal out of the ground. Fracking will begin immediately as well. RTW will happen and there will be a repeal of the minimum wage. Voting rights laws will occur as well. Plus you will see full on open carry and repeal of all gun legislation. No more HB40.
This is the Southern Illinois legislators dreams.
===How about SB 0107. Go ahead, roll your eyes.===
I will do exactly that. The bill was sent to subcommittee more than two weeks ago. Today is the Senate’s deadline to report bills out of committee. The Senate adjourned for the week yesterday.
So, yeah, my eyes are definitely rolling. If you want to break up the state, you need to do a lot better than a dead bill, bub.
==The bill was sent to subcommittee more than two weeks ago. Today is the Senate’s deadline to report bills out of committee. The Senate adjourned for the week yesterday==
So are you implying that anxiety caused by SB 0107 say, 3 weeks or a month ago, doesn’t count?
I simply don’t understand the naïveté. A complex maneuver like secession would take some savvy political leadership. If they can’t track what’s happening in Springfield (and why), they are hopelessly lost.
Let me try and understand (although it IS difficult for me because I’m from S IL).
==Learning to live with some level of dissatisfaction is a hallmark of adulthood==
Translation: just grow up.
==Such snowflakes==
I may be a mere simpleton, but it seems that many do start worrying if they perceive that the state is moving toward encroaching on their traditional freedoms such as with SB 0107.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 12:29 pm:
==Southern Illinois won’t fail in traditional terms.==
If the schism includes the collar counties, the new state won’t get any of these things. If Chicago gets the collar counties maybe.
- Dee Lay - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 1:54 pm:
If I could speak on the vast majority of cook and the surrounding counties residents: Bye Felicia.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 1:57 pm:
I think you could credibly label the Illinois Family Institute as a hate group.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 1:58 pm:
The Illinois GOP that was once thoughtful, intelligent to policy and politics, and understood the value of this entire state as a whole is long gone… when (insert any if the banned words of *your* choice) like these three are allowed to seemingly be welcomed as GOP “members of distinction”
They are embarrassments to Lincoln, the history of the Republican Party, and are pathetic little thinkers.
They don’t know enough to be embarrassed by this.
- The Captain - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 1:58 pm:
I’m a Chicago/Cook resident and I absolutely, unequivocally, non-ironically support this. I am 100% in favor of making Cook County its own state and will gladly endorse this proposal and work with these downstaters to get it enacted.
As for debts, we’ll divide them up based on where they live. Any SERS, TRS, GARS, JRS or SURS beneficiaries living in Cook County - we’ll cover. You get the rest. We’ll divide the bill backlog proportionately based on population. You can even keep the name. Good luck and if you feel like coming for a visit you’re always welcome.
- Moby - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 1:59 pm:
So, white Democrats hate themselves? Weird.
- lakeside - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:01 pm:
I will cheerfully contribute to such a wall as would separate me from such fellows.
- Former Downstater - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:01 pm:
And they wonder why people look down their noses at them.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:01 pm:
So why didn’t downstate have a lot of votes for McCann during the governor’s race?
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:02 pm:
Let’s pretend this really happened.
When push comes to shove, does anyone really think the collar counties are sticking with the downstate?
- JS Mill - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:04 pm:
Demagoguery at its worst.
If metro Chicago gets sick of this and cuts off the rest of the state they are huge trouble. Southern Illinois will make Mississippi look like Monaco.
- Former Downstater - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:04 pm:
“Everything that matters to the people in my district is under attack. The issue of discrimination, the issue of not having school shootings, the school curriculum. Everything these people hold near and dear to their hearts - our hearts - is under attack by far right legislators from the country.”
Rep. Halbrook, I know what you mean.
- Alrighty then - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:05 pm:
I’m all for building a wall around Effingham.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:05 pm:
==Facebook’s official description of the group…
Charity Organization in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin==
For once I agree with Facebook.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:06 pm:
===white Democrats hate themselves?===
Our white, Jewish Democratic governor must be consumed by self-loathing. lol
- City Zen - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:07 pm:
Joke’s on you, Mr. Halbrook: Cook County is broke too.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:07 pm:
Hicksit? Rubexit?
Someone should tell those folks that they’re being played by the likes of Halbrook.
- lakeside - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:08 pm:
@Michelle The Collars are like, “um, let’s just spread these traffic cones a liiiiiiiiiiittle bit further.”
- Grand Avenue - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:08 pm:
Why is that map missing Grundy & Kendall Counties?
- So_Ill - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:08 pm:
It’s pretty hard to take anyone seriously who spouts such foolishness.
- Tweed Jacket - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:09 pm:
uffda i’m embarrassed to be from downstate. The willful mis-education and political grandstanding by these Reps is shameful. Without Cook County southern Illinois would be Mississippi with worse roads and colder winter
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:11 pm:
When you think how pathetic these legislators are, it’s no wonder the GA is a super majority of Dems…
These 3… are reasons why the GOP can’t win in the suburbs anymore…
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:13 pm:
===So why didn’t downstate have a lot of votes for McCann during the governor’s race?===
As a downstater who voted for McCann, I ask this question as well.
- JoanP - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:14 pm:
Honest to god, I read that first paragraph and thought I was reading The Onion.
- Nick Name - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:15 pm:
Any more, scratch a Republican, get a white nationalist.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:16 pm:
They want a wall? So there are checkpoint Charlies ready to shoot Cook County residents if they cross into New Illinois or whatever it will be called?
- NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:16 pm:
Please no, because then I will have nothing but “woke” Democratics who are in charge. As a Cook County resident it’s bad enough currently but if it’s just Cook then you can really kiss us goodbye.
- Ducky LaMoore - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:17 pm:
=== When push comes to shove, does anyone really think the collar counties are sticking with the downstate? ===
I think once everyone who supports this gets a nice look at what income, sales and property tax rates would have to be to maintain the same revenue they’d revolt against the revolting revolters.
- sulla - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:19 pm:
“I’m all for building a wall around Effingham.”
Backed.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:19 pm:
As a downstate who see thus as senseless, might I suggest these fools rename their state…. new mississippi
- lakeside - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:20 pm:
==ready to shoot Cook County residents if they cross into New Illinois ==
I don’t foresee that being much of a problem tbh.
But wait till the New Illinoisans get a load of Cook State’s tax on non-resident airport usage.
- Because I Said So.... - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:20 pm:
Insert eye roll.
- downstateR - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:21 pm:
Don’t know where to start, other than “not gonna happen, guys.”
- Anon - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:22 pm:
Like @The Captain above, I too am a Chicago resident and too believe a split is necessary. Frankly mega-metro areas like New York City, LA, Detroit et al likely need the same sort of separation. The needs of these areas and the states where they exist are usually vastly different.
The beliefs, we can leave off for now - but those too typically differ, in many cases to a 180 degree difference.
But the needs, taxation, densities, education, work, minimum wages, all of these things differ. Someone making $70,000 annually anywhere 90 minutes outside of Chicago metro can live well. That same salary in Chicago barely gets you by.
Go for it. Obviously walls are unnecessary but as stated, debts, obligations and taxes need to be sorted out. Not to mention the pension elephant in the room.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:29 pm:
The thinking of these three led to Underwood and Casten becoming congresscritters.
These three make the GOP something voters can’t stomach unless you’re rural, white, angry, and closed minded.
These three are ruining the GOP… and are proud of it.
- NoGifts - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:30 pm:
We get the collar counties too. Illinois will be Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. They’ll get the rest in West Illinois. It’ll be like Virginia and West Virginia. Brexit…no Illexit.
- NoGifts - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:31 pm:
And Oakbrook can be our new capital.
I’m seeing a pleasant future for the northeast.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:34 pm:
==I don’t foresee that being much of a problem tbh.==
I don’t either. I don’t think anything much is going to happen because most people in Illinois have common sense.
But it would be interesting if some reporter asked Brad Hallbrook what he had in mind with the wall. Will people from other states need a passports? How will the wall be enforced? How much in new taxes will the new state have to raise on its residents to build it? Will there be walls around the other states? Will people have to get tourist visas?
- SOIL M - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:35 pm:
Maybe is we had State Reps who could actually put forth and work on real solutions to the problems we do have, they would have less time to blow hot air about something that they know is useless and a terrible idea. Make better use of your time and work on real, achievable goals, one step at a time and maybe the Republican Party might be relevant again. Keep putting on these shows and you will continue to lose support across the state.
- Roadrager - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:36 pm:
I also support building the wall around Effingham. The smaller size means it will be faster and easier to construct. Cheaper, too, with none of that pesky union labor getting its nose in anyone’s business.
The only hard part will be getting anybody to notice it once it’s up.
- northsider (the original) - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:37 pm:
How will we divide the electoral college?
- Our Joe - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:41 pm:
Still more proof of the resurrection of the Know-Nothing party.
- northernwatersports - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:42 pm:
I’M ALL IN !!
Where do I sign up to help and donate some campaign money to?? Lets part ways with those socialist Chicagoans.
When were finished we’ll control our own destiny and our own communities.
Wait….I pay $1 to the State now…Chicago gets 80 cents for the dollar they pay…and I get $1.84 back….that deal goes away if I get divorced from Chicago??
What’s that song….it’s cheaper to keep ‘er!
Southerners….sheeeesh! Basic math.
- RedIllinois - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
— Apparently the recent attacks in New Zealand have had no effect on any of these yahoos. They are right back out there pushing out hate speech. —
Hate speech lol. Just because you disagree doesn’t make it hate speech.
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
===Apparently the recent attacks in New Zealand have had no effect on any of these yahoos.===
The rally took place March 10th. The New Zealand shootings happened March 15th.
- IllinoisCitizen - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
Why stop there? Let’s not mess with the number of stars. Chicago and northeastern Illinois become the State of Chicago. We can divide up the rest of the state. MetroEast goes to Missouri. Southern Illinois can go to Kentucky or become an exclave of Tennessee. Anything east of I-57 becomes Indiana. Wisconsin comes and takes the northern tier. Iowa gets western Illinois and Forgottonia. Then everyone can fight for Peoria and Springfield. There. No need to sew new flags.
- XDNR - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:54 pm:
This epitomizes why the GOP is imploding. They can name their new state Laughingstock.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 2:55 pm:
==Hate speech lol. Just because you disagree doesn’t make it hate speech.==
lol? Classy aren’t you.
What the Illinois Family Institute put out is most certainly hate speech. And if you can’t see that you are a huge part of the problem.
- Dome Gnome - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:00 pm:
If you love something, set it free?
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:00 pm:
Serious question: Does the “money you get back from the State” include all the costs of the prisons in a particular county?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:03 pm:
===include all the costs of the prisons in a particular county===
Think those counties would rather not have the jobs?
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
==Hate speech lol. Just because you disagree doesn’t make it hate speech.==
I don’t know if hate speech is the right phrase. But if I wanted to sell state separation I would use an amicable divorce as a model. We grew apart. We’d be happier going our separate ways. We’ll always be friends. Not Hilter talk and talking about walls. It’s almost like Halbrook, Miller, Smith, et al are trying to repulse people. And they’ll succeed. Most people don’t think the tin foil hat and Napoleon jacket is a good fashion choice.
- Blue Dog Dem - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:07 pm:
Unfortunately, this is also a hot topic in my neck of the woods.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:09 pm:
=== - Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:03 pm:
===include all the costs of the prisons in a particular county===
Think those counties would rather not have the jobs? ===
Absolutely not. But don’t act like all that money was borne out of the goodness and generosity of Cook County without any strings attached. Almost half the prison population committed their crimes in Cook County.
- The Dude Abides - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:11 pm:
SMH Downstate Conservative politicians have fed into this nonsense for years that Chicago is the root of most of what is wrong with Illinois. We’d be in a pretty hopeless situation downstate without the economic output of Chicago. Of course many GOP downstaters refuse to believe that truth.
- Norseman - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:14 pm:
The GOP can no longer sell it’s policy so it sells hate. Unfortunately, there are too many buyers who don’t understand the economic harm they’re doing to themselves.
- RedIllinois - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:20 pm:
:: We’d be in a pretty hopeless situation downstate without the economic output of Chicago. ::
Nonsense. There are plenty of states smaller than what downstate Illinois would be, and most are doing just fine, certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now.
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:21 pm:
==Three downstate freshman state legislators - Rep. Darren Bailey, Chris Miller & Blaine Wilhour==
So no one is going to ask Leader Durkin to defend or explain this? Illinois media will just shrug off this one off, since they have no power? I can guarantee you if these were AA reps holding events in Chicago to denigrate the “dumb hillbillies” in places like Effingham and comparing them to Nazis, Madigan wouldn’t be able to step out of his office without being surrounded by so-called journalists demanding action be taken like censure and/or removal.
Where you at on this, Jim boy? I have to ask since the supposed “liberal media” won’t do it.
- Stu - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:22 pm:
===Why is that map missing Grundy & Kendall Counties?===
Apparently they used the 1839 Illinois county map…
http://www.maps.ilgw.org/il1839.htm
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:23 pm:
===There are plenty of states smaller than what downstate Illinois would be, and most are doing just fine, certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now.====
Mississippi
Alabama
West Virginia
Arkansas
I’ll let you pick.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:24 pm:
I had a fairly nice time when I went down to southern IL in 2017 to watch the eclipse.
I planned to go back this summer and see some of the things I learned about when driving through, like the surprising amount of wineries in the area.
Since these people are loudly speaking out that they think I’m part of the problem, I’ll just have to cancel my plans and take my travels elsewhere.
There’s also another eclipse coming in the same area in a few years. I won’t be booking any hotel rooms in southern IL, and will adjust my viewing location accordingly to another state.
Great job guys.
- Flynn's Mom - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:29 pm:
I’m all for the downstate wall as long as there is a gate that can let me get to the Firefly Grill once in a while. BTW, do they realize how many tax dollars flow south from the Chicago metro area?
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:34 pm:
=== - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:23 pm:
===There are plenty of states smaller than what downstate Illinois would be, and most are doing just fine, certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now.====
Mississippi
Alabama
West Virginia
Arkansas
I’ll let you pick. ===
Interesting in that those are some of the states luring most of our best and brightest college students.
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:36 pm:
@TheInvisibleMan
We will try and persevere without your tourism dollars.
- Elliott Ness - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:36 pm:
In the world does not recognize Halbrook as a nutbucket? The guy has absolutely NO IDEA about how to represent his constituency - by the way, and seriously…this will NEVER happen, not ever…why not try to pass something that will help your region instead of making it look like you are so dense you couldn’t carry anything reasonable?
- Honeybear - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:37 pm:
No Flynn’s Mom Firefly is off limits to all Northern Aggressors. s/
It is a treasure of southern Illinois.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:39 pm:
==Hate speech lol. Just because you disagree doesn’t make it hate speech.==
Well when you compare people to Nazis and want to build a physical barrier to keep them from mingling with you, that isn’t just “agreeing to disagree”. That’s hate.
But to sell something that would take a lot of votes it would make sense make your case to appeal to as many people as possible. Hallbrook, Bailey, Miller, Wilhour, and Smith are doing the opposite. They are repulsing as many people as possible with the Hilter rhetoric and the wall talk. So I’m curious, I’ve seen the Producers. What is the angle? What is the grift?
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:40 pm:
===Interesting in that those are some of the states luring most of our best and brightest college students.===
Yep.
Someone offers you free schooling when your own state won’t see the merit of you work, places like Alabama become very appealing.
That’s a college student.
You leave Starkville, go beyond Fayetteville, visit around Auburn, Tuscaloosa… drive around the outskirts of Morgantown, eat dinner in Huntington…
Be an adult, not that college student… see some of the poorest counties in America, with dirt floor houses and no plumbing or electricity.
They’re trying to steal our students to help themselves.
Keep up.
- Fixer - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:41 pm:
This is what happens when you put a mic in front of the new guys. Maybe sit down and learn some basic economics of state funding before proposing something that directly harms your constituents.
- RedIllinois - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:46 pm:
No OW, I’ll let you pick. Downstate easily has 4 million people:
26 Kentucky 4,454,189
27 Oregon 4,142,776
28 Oklahoma 3,930,864
29 Connecticut 3,588,184
30 Iowa 3,145,711
31 Utah 3,101,833
32 Arkansas 3,004,279
33 Nevada 2,998,039
34 Mississippi 2,984,100
35 Kansas 2,913,123
36 New Mexico 2,088,070
37 Nebraska 1,920,076
38 West Virginia 1,815,857
39 Idaho 1,716,943
40 Hawaii 1,427,538
41 New Hampshire 1,342,795
42 Maine 1,335,907
43 Rhode Island 1,059,639
44 Montana 1,050,493
45 Delaware 961,939
46 South Dakota 869,666
47 North Dakota 755,393
48 Alaska 739,795
49 Vermont 623,657
50 Wyoming 579,315
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:48 pm:
Hawai’i
Anything else?
LOL
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:52 pm:
===Downstate easily has 4 million people===
One of the saddest things about grifts is seeing how so many people love being grifted.
You’re being played for a fool and you either don’t know or don’t care.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 3:54 pm:
===We will try and persevere===
No you won’t. You will make up the difference dollar for dollar out of your own pocket, making your local problems continue to get worse.
An acquaintance belongs to a wine club, who purchased over 10k in wine for their restaurants from a winery down there after I mentioned it to them. It wasn’t the best wine, but it was a nice local touch and a good way to support our neighbors in the state. I doubt he will be amused by this either.
Telling your customers you don’t want to be associated with them isn’t a very good long term plan.
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:00 pm:
If Rep. Halbrook would like a better climate, he’d find a home in extreme Northern California, i.e., the State of Jefferson. Same type of numbers, but no humidity / wind chill to deal with.
- Southern_Dawg - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:00 pm:
I live two hours south of Effingham. Can we divide into thirds that way South Illinois doesn’t include central Illinois flatlanders?
- Actual Red - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:07 pm:
I think comparisons to other states would also need to take into account population density, sizes of cities, wealth and resources. Plus, you would need to look at what policies the new state wants to implement. Probably not right to compare it to Connecticut, for example.
New Illinois’s largest city would be Aurora or Rockford, depending on who gets to keep the collar counties. Those would be about half the size of Louisville and 1/3 the size of Portland or Oklahoma City, for example. Maybe Iowa is the best analogue? But they have the dreaded progressive income tax, and their top bracket starts at like $70,000.
- El Conquistador - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:13 pm:
Southern IL has gone full on hillbilly… embarrassing to say the least.
- btowntruthfromforgottonia - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:14 pm:
Mississippi and West Virginia are doing just fine?
Since when??
- anon - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:15 pm:
How foolish. Too bad they cannot separate. I live in the collars and would prefer Cook and the collars were not financing these folks. Their minority views are not characteristic of the states’ population. Then again, most people live in Cook and the Collars.
- Medvale School for the Gifted - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:15 pm:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Please, please, please release HR101 from Rules Committee and let the sponsor call the resolution.
Thank you,
Your Friends in the Gallery
- Alex Ander - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:17 pm:
Don’t lump us all in. I live an hour north of Kentucky and know that we’d be a third world welfare state without the Chicago area.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:28 pm:
“Chicago Leftists in the state capitol”
Those neoliberals who passed pension reform several times and repealed taxes when CME/Sears threatened to leave?
Chicago will definitely stay in Illinois, if not just to make the separatists stew in their phony outrage.
- Enemy of the State - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:34 pm:
New Illinois could have plenty of money. Place a surcharge on all the water coming down the Illinois river via the “sanitary canal”.
And, have all of the prisoners serving time be housed no more than 30 miles from the zip code of their residence. Makes family visits cheaper.
- Rte 40 - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:35 pm:
Are these reps affiliated with Dan Proft? Who is behind the curtain? Halbrook and his crew are pawns.
Who backed these guys? Where did their political money come from?
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:36 pm:
“certainly better than the dumpster fire we have now”
For years downstate has been taking more than it pays in. If anyone should be outraged, it’s us. Have some class and pay what you owe.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:36 pm:
They realize that Illinois would lose representatives in Congress with their idea don’t they?
They also realize that it takes more than the ILGA approving a resolution don’t they?
Or did they leave that out so they could make funnies about putting a wall around Chicago and Cook County?
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:46 pm:
Art Jones was offended.
- Anon 123 - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:50 pm:
Interesting to play this out and all in jest of course. But where would Chicago and Cook County send its garbage and solid waste sewage? Even if downstate Illinois decided to stop sending food (a large metropolitan area like Chicago/Cook would exhaust its food supply in about 3 days.) other states like Wisconsin and Michigan might continue supply it. But I doubt they would be willing to take their…..well you get the idea. These same problems present themselves when Democratic Presidential hopefuls start to talk about doing away with the Electoral College. Virtually all of the food and water in this country is produced or exists in the watersheds in the flyover states. Come to think of it, most of the members of the armed forces also hail from there. Again, interesting.
- former southerner - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 4:55 pm:
I see my home state of Mississippi has shown up in several comments and it is funny that if you substitute upstate Mississippi for downstate IL you get similar views.
I am from Gulfport and just as taxes from Chicago subsidize downstate Illinois, taxes from the three prosperous coastal counties subsidize the northern part of the state largely populated by those who have great disdain for the coastal tourist/government employed/gambling godless people.
People are tribal regardless of their state of residence.
- VerySmallRocks - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:09 pm:
I would favor these reactionary bigots just picking up and moving to kindred states like Kentucky or Mississippi where they can revel in unpaved roads and outhouses.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:09 pm:
=Even if downstate Illinois decided to stop sending food (a large metropolitan area like Chicago/Cook would exhaust its food supply in about 3 days.) =
You may want to do some research there, this isn’t feudal England. Chicago’s metro (and every place else) gets food from all across the globe. How do you think we get fresh produce in the winter? Carbondale?? Yikes.
What port of call will New Poverty get it’s goods through? I imagine the fees for goods headed south will be steep.
=No OW, I’ll let you pick. Downstate easily has 4 million people:=
Whew, some whoppers out there today gang.
Use the google and see the map of the state counties, you can get one the shows each counties population.
Spoiler alert- you are going to be disappointed when you find out you are living in a state 2/3rds the size of South Dakota with no resources and astronomical taxes.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:22 pm:
===Spoiler alert- you are going to be disappointed when you find out you are living in a state 2/3rds the size of South Dakota with no resources and astronomical taxes.===
Welp, they should be happy we can’t and won’t let this all go.
We’re saving them from themselves.
- Anon62704 - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:35 pm:
Looks like Robert Marshall was on to something…
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180110/divide-illinois-into-3-or-4-states-democrat-running-for-governor-says-yes
/s
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:42 pm:
=You may want to do some research there, this isn’t feudal England. Chicago’s metro (and every place else) gets food from all across the globe. How do you think we get fresh produce in the winter? Carbondale?? Yikes.=
Gosh, you obviously missed “in jest”. Sheesh, John Stuart Mill, even his depressed state, probably had something of a sense of humor.
- The Dude Abides - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:43 pm:
@RedIllinois, You just nicely demonstrated my point.Just keep believing that false narrative.
- kitty - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:44 pm:
Rte 40, Mr. Halbrook’s top 4 financial contributors in 2016 were the Bruce Rauner Campaign Committee ($53K) and Dick Uihlein, Bruce Rauner and Diana Rauner $5.4K each). His tactic of dividing urban vs rural and secular vs non-secular is part of the playbook the GOP often uses. Halbrook’s long term goal is to implement a right leaning economic agenda, most notably anti-labor policies. While much more refined than Halbrook, Scott Walker did the same in Wisconsin (Milwaukee / Madison vs the rest of the state). Shortly after Walker was elected, with a GOP controlled legislature, Act 10 was passed, Wisconsin approved RTWFL and repealed or diminished prevailing wage laws while providing tax breaks that mostly benefited the wealthy. This is Halbrook’s vision for IL and he is willing to play the bigoted “God, Guns and Gays” and tired Chicagoland vs. Downstate card in pursuit of such.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:46 pm:
This is such a Shelbyville idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM
- The Dude Abides - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:52 pm:
“Interesting in that those are some of the states luring most of our best and brightest college students.”
Yep, when you have a previous Governor who refused to fund our Universities that’s what you get. Now that he’s been shown the door there’s hope that trend might change.
- Benniefly2 - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 5:56 pm:
If the fine folks of Southern Illinois would like to leave, I could get behind that with a simple caveat. Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri should be plenty red for them. If any of those states would like to annex any of our southern counties, I would support that. They don’t get new state status, however.
I am not sure that the fine folks south of I-64 would get too many offers, though.
- someonehastosayit - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 6:05 pm:
Someone might ask Bailey, Wilhour and Halbrook how their stance squares with the oath of office they each took to support the Constitution of the State of Illinois. But then again, there is that “to the best of the ability” clause so maybe that’s an out.
- NoGifts - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 6:21 pm:
Will it be an exit deal or a crashout? Lol
- lost in the weeds - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 6:34 pm:
If they want to get rid of things (taxes and pensions) imposed on them by outside forces they should secede from the United States so they can get rid of that pesky constitution and DC influences. Just being another state that is subject to federal requirements will not solve the problem they have. Ask other states.
Build a wall and call it “Fort No Nothing”
- Bye bye - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 8:27 pm:
I would love to see downstate break away. Cook County gets to keep all of its own sales and income tax revenue and nothing for downstate. Let’s see how well they do.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 8:30 pm:
Embarrassed to say I live in Effingham. Recently I was walking down a street and what I saw from a street corner pretty much sums up thinking downstate: Two yard signs — one for a pro-life group, one for a local gun range — and in the background, the mega-cross that stand alongside I-57/70. People never fail to amaze me.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 8:36 pm:
It is the same as Pate Philip’s decrying Chicago and Cook County as a “rat hole” and claiming that sending money to these areas was throwing good money away. This was back in the day when Du Page was Republican through and through.
- crazybleedingheart - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 9:24 pm:
==Dear Mr. Speaker,
Please, please, please release HR101 from Rules Committee and let the sponsor call the resolution.
Thank you,
Your Friends in the Gallery==
Hard agree. Put it up on the board.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 21, 19 @ 10:29 pm:
Thank you, ILGOP, for not condemning this. This shows many people that their political futures look much better as your prospects look bleaker. The ILGOP is the party of Trump and this kind of foolishness, and the party of protecting the rich even if 97% get a tax cut. Good luck with that image, after the 2018 election shellacking. And thank you, on behalf of many who will fare better running against you.
- truthteller - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 4:41 am:
Oh, what an idea…the State of Chicago and Illibama….nice, Chicago wins big and downstate would have to double their taxes as no more Chicago money to pay for their teacher’s pensions and the rest the keeps downstate from coming another Alabama
- So IL - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:38 am:
Now that everyone’s got their backwards redneck jokes out of their systems, can anyone acknowledge that there’s apparently some level of dissatisfaction among non-Chicago residents regarding perceived loss of liberties?
- Dome Gnome - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:46 am:
Last night I took the time to watch the entire rally. The most impactful aspect is the audience Q&A at the end, which almost to a question revealed just how politically naive the followers are. I don’t blame the followers but the people who lead them astray should be held accountable. I just lost all my respect for these downstate deceivers.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:47 am:
===…level of dissatisfaction among non-Chicago residents regarding perceived loss of liberties?===
Use your words, please.
What liberties, what losses?
- Anonymous - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:51 am:
==What liberties, what losses?==
SB 0107 to start. Go ahead, roll your eyes.
- Anonymous - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:53 am:
Southern Illinois won’t fail in traditional terms.
They will immediately deregulate all coal regulations and start pulling tons of coal out of the ground. Fracking will begin immediately as well. RTW will happen and there will be a repeal of the minimum wage. Voting rights laws will occur as well. Plus you will see full on open carry and repeal of all gun legislation. No more HB40.
This is the Southern Illinois legislators dreams.
- So IL - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:55 am:
==What liberties, what losses?==
How about SB 0107. Go ahead, roll your eyes.
- @misterjayem - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:56 am:
“can anyone acknowledge that there’s apparently some level of dissatisfaction among non-Chicago residents regarding perceived loss of liberties?”
Learning to live with some level of dissatisfaction is a hallmark of adulthood.
Always has been.
– MrJM
- Rabid - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:56 am:
Like-minded downstate Illinoisans, art jones as relation down south
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 7:59 am:
===SB 0107===
Hmm.
So you’re willing to look foolish about dividing the state?
Any other liberty?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 8:04 am:
===How about SB 0107. Go ahead, roll your eyes.===
I will do exactly that. The bill was sent to subcommittee more than two weeks ago. Today is the Senate’s deadline to report bills out of committee. The Senate adjourned for the week yesterday.
So, yeah, my eyes are definitely rolling. If you want to break up the state, you need to do a lot better than a dead bill, bub.
- Ancient - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 8:24 am:
==The bill was sent to subcommittee more than two weeks ago. Today is the Senate’s deadline to report bills out of committee. The Senate adjourned for the week yesterday==
So are you implying that anxiety caused by SB 0107 say, 3 weeks or a month ago, doesn’t count?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 8:47 am:
===anxiety caused by SB 0107 say, 3 weeks or a month ago, doesn’t count?===
Such snowflakes.
It’s just a bill. Thousands of bills are introduced each year. Most never go anywhere. There are no anxiety-free safe spaces in real life.
- Dome Gnome - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 9:23 am:
I simply don’t understand the naïveté. A complex maneuver like secession would take some savvy political leadership. If they can’t track what’s happening in Springfield (and why), they are hopelessly lost.
- Ancient - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 9:25 am:
Let me try and understand (although it IS difficult for me because I’m from S IL).
==Learning to live with some level of dissatisfaction is a hallmark of adulthood==
Translation: just grow up.
==Such snowflakes==
I may be a mere simpleton, but it seems that many do start worrying if they perceive that the state is moving toward encroaching on their traditional freedoms such as with SB 0107.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Friday, Mar 22, 19 @ 12:29 pm:
==Southern Illinois won’t fail in traditional terms.==
If the schism includes the collar counties, the new state won’t get any of these things. If Chicago gets the collar counties maybe.