Overview

• Thirty-three downstate Illinois counties have approved nonbinding referendums seeking to leave Illinois over dissatisfaction with state policies.
• Gov. Mike Braun signed legislation establishing a bistate commission with six Indiana appointees, granting Indiana a one-seat majority and mandating its first meeting by September 1.
• Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers have declined to engage with the panel after dismissing the proposal as a political stunt.
• Any change to state boundaries requires approval from both state legislatures and Congress under Article IV Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution.
• Leaders of the New Illinois movement say their objective is to form a new state separate from Illinois rather than join Indiana.