Divide Illinois in 2 (Chicago, Peoria, Springfield: job market, high school, taxi)

[kkh]

Is anyone out there who can help me get a resolution on the ballot to divide our state into North Illinois above I-80 and South Illinois? All the decisions about our state are coming from Cook County. We in the downstate area need our voices heard!!

[Manigault]

Sure, we could do that. As mentioned earlier, about 75% of the population of IL is north of I-80 so I guess that's where all the votes and majority of political power comes from. It stands to reason. The voices of southern Illinois are heard -- there are just so many fewer of them. Weren't Paul Simon, Dan Walker, Jim Edgar, Al the Pal and George Ryan from south of I-80? They had a little influence on the state. Dick Durbin is from East St. and currently lives in Springfield.

Remember the northern part of Cook County wanted to leave to connect with lower Lake County to form Lincoln County? They forgot details like building a jail, taxing residents and cleaning sewage. The southern half of IL should be similarly warned.

But as to your suggestion, if taken to heart we would have to come up with new names. The south would be called Arkansas North (or Baja Iowa or the Commonwealth of Peoria) and the northern portion of IL could be called Western Ohio.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by kkh

Is anyone out there who can help me get a resolution on the ballot to divide our state into North Illinois above I-80 and South Illinois? All the decisions about our state are coming from Cook County. We in the downstate area need our voices heard!!

Then do something with your economy down there. Its in shambles (in most areas) and everyone's solution seems to be to retreat to some God-forsaken sunbelt city.

[Chinolala]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Then do something with your economy down there. Its in shambles (in most areas) and everyone's solution seems to be to retreat to some God-forsaken sunbelt city.

I agree. My mother in law owns property around Arcola and I can't even begin to tell you the hassles that she's encoutered trying to maintain renters. No one seems to have a job, 50% of the people seem to be on disability and the job market seems awful. Downstate IL can gripe about Northern Illinois all they want. But the fact of the matter is that we subsidize the entire state and then when we needs funds for public transporation so that we can go to and from work, we get little assistance from State government. Don't get me wrong - I was born and bred in Illinois and don't hate the state or anything like that. But the division between Chicagoland and the rest of the state (Springfield) is becoming increasinlgy frustating. Without Chicagoland, Illinois would be a fly over state, much like Indiana or Iowa. So let's start supporting the engine of our fine state.

[Miserable in Florida]

Hey Steve-O,

Any advice for a couple of (almost) empty nesters? We are in our early 40's and have a daughter that needs to finish-up high school (schooling is very important to us), but my husband and I are looking to move to the city. We love the beat of the city, and quite frankly being from Florida for so long....we are done with the "burb" life style. Any advice on an area that is considered "the city", but will not sacrifice the safety and well being of a teenager?

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by kkh

Is anyone out there who can help me get a resolution on the ballot to divide our state into North Illinois above I-80 and South Illinois? All the decisions about our state are coming from Cook County. We in the downstate area need our voices heard!!

Great idea, I'm tired of all our tax money going downstate to build a bunch of roads and stuff that we never use!

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by kkh

Is anyone out there who can help me get a resolution on the ballot to divide our state into North Illinois above I-80 and South Illinois? All the decisions about our state are coming from Cook County. We in the downstate area need our voices heard!!

I'd be for this as well, but mostly because of the opposite of what you're saying. The Chicago area highly subsidizes downstate, and I'd love to have that money spent on the area where 75% of the people live in the first place.

I love how we give out all this money, but then when we try and do transportation and transit projects/funding - the rest of the state throws a hissy fit.

[sonicreducer]

I guess I'm sympathetic both ways, and ultimately think this is a dumb decision for either section of the state. Downstaters are always going to ***** about Chicago, and vice-versa, because the "exchanges" occurring between these groups are generally pretty invisible. We usually only react to what we see affecting our daily lives. Why should a city person care or understand the agricultural output of the state? Well, they should, but they don't. And similarly, why should a farmer care about 'big city' business and factories, etc? It's a two way street for sure.

Downstate folks get confused about all the money (which they perceive as partially 'theirs') that gets dumped into Chicago transit and highway projects because when they DO come to visit the city they are confronted with paying exorbitant tolls just to drive on the decrepit roads. There are no tolls downstate, so people tend to think of Chicago as being this money pit when it comes to transportation funding. Add on the reputation of some of the unions who staff highway projects, and people think they are just being hookwinked. I'm not saying this is right, but this is just how it is. And there really are not a "lot" of roads downstate that need funded, when compared with the labyrinth of roads in Chicagoland. There are a couple arterial interstates that link the state with other states. I actually think that Illinois is behind the curve when it comes to decent state roads and stuff like this. Wisconsin has downstate Illinois beat by a long shot in that regard. Here in WI we have awesome 4 lane state roads that are every bit as nice as the interstate, all over the darn state. I rarely see downstate IL roads being refurbished or widened or anything like that.

There's also mounting tension downstate due to Chicago directly 'exporting' it's poor from Cabrini and other public housing areas (and their accompanying problems) to other smaller cities. That has definitely bred a lot of hostility.

Downstaters dislike the Gov. because he doesn't hide his disdain for them like other people in public office have in the past. The capitol is in Springfield (for better or worse), and he should live there, and send his kids to school there. If that's too unappealing to you, then you shouldn't run. This holier-than-thou attitude really chafes on people. And Illinois state government has a reputation for being pretty corrupt over the years, and this is due in large part to the "Chicago machine". This gives one the feeling that your vote really doesn't count most of the time.

I do think that many downstate folks tend to understate Chicago's importance to the state, but I don't think that is out of mean-spiritedness. They just fail to see Chicago's impact on their life in any way. But if it was gone, they definitely would. Seceding would probably show both sides what they've been missing, but is that really a viable option?? Maybe we should just have a cultural exchange program where the city folks go to the country for a week and vice versa, and try and make a go at things. Maybe then everyone would respect each other a little more, and have a little perspective....

[via chicago]

I think Illinois has more of a disconnect between city/rural than any other state in the country.

[Manigault]

I'm not sure this is a contest but I believe that NY, MI & CA have their urban-rural tensions also.