Alan Webber: Time for Illinois to consider shedding Chicago

Anyway, is there anybody that trusts Chicago politicians or the process by which they conduct daily business? Would you believe they cancelled Thanksgiving? Is Lightfoot going to send out the Thanksgiving police, too? “Hey officer, put that drumstick down?”

So, if we can generally agree Chicago is corrupt and controls the outcomes of our state and national voting, why are we throwing our votes in with theirs? If Biden is declared to have won legally, sometime later this year, most of the residents outside of Crook County did not vote for him. This happens every year at every election. We are not a Democratic state — racist and corrupt Chicago is Democrat. By and large, we are a conservative state with a gigantic gaping sinkhole called Chicago.

We didn’t vote for JB Pritzker, Chicago did. Pritzker lost more than 80 percent of the state’s 102 counties, yet we’re all stuck with his boneheaded edicts, tax schemes, and ridiculous virus mandates. We don’t vote for Mike Madigan either, Chicago does. Under his iron fist, we have been pulverized into the laughing stock of the nation. We lead the country in just about everything negative.

Remember Kim Foxx, the state’s attorney that bungled and subsequently let the Jesse Smollet racist matter be swept under the rug? She was awarded for her malfeasance by “winning” in a landslide. So, why don’t we let Chicago and the surrounding counties be their own state, and the rest of us will be our own? It makes perfect sense, as opposed to the way we’ve been doing it for decades. Recall the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results? We Illinoisans have become the poster child for that maxim.

One could “buy” a financial expert to tell us why it would be a good or bad move financially, so I won’t bore you with numbers because — and this is important — it really doesn’t matter. If we aren’t getting properly represented, or can trust our elected officials, we need to do something different. We’ll adjust, and over time become even more prosperous without Chicago’s hand in our pocket. Maybe this will stop the mass exodus of good people from Illinois, too.

As I’ve thought about this, I have to wonder if it would be better for counties to be absorbed by the surrounding states. I would have no problem with the entire Illinois-Indiana state lines becoming Hoosier — they seem to be governed very well. The southern tip might rightfully opt for Kentucky. Other counties could be absorbed by Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin. I’m not aware of any organizations that promotes Illinois counties to be absorbed by neighboring states, so this may be a pipedream.

But check out an organization called New Illinois which can be found at https://www.newillinoisstate.org/ and on Face Book. They have a plan for splitting the State of Illinois, much in the way West Virginia and Virginia did in 1863. Their website states, “We are a nonpartisan organization addressing the urban vs. rural, small town and suburban divide in the state.” It’s my understanding New Illinois is starting a Kankakee chapter soon.

I would hope the plan would be to separate from those counties west of Interstate 39 and north of Interstate 80, which then could be called the (sorry?) state of Chicago. Sorry, but if your town touches those interstates, you’re in Chicago. I’d like to see the rest of us called the state of Lincoln. Our license plates could say, “The Real Land of Lincoln.”

Obviously, there’s much to review about the organization’s plans as it would be a move of major historical consequence if enacted. I would bet though that the people of West Virginia are ecstatic to no longer be part of Virginia, given the socialist way Virginia has gone.

It has nearly become embarrassing to tell someone where you’re from. People actually smirk when you tell them you’re from Illinois...and that’s a shame. I’m just not sure which option would be better for fellow Illinoisans fed up with the stench out of Chicago.