Rural counties in California, Illinois push to secede from blue states after Trump’s win

Politics
Rural counties in California, Illinois push to secede from blue states to separate from liberal-run cities after Trump’s win: ‘So flipping excited’
By Ryan King
Published Nov. 24, 2024, 3:12 p.m. ET

939 Comments
They’ve had enough.

A movement in a myriad of rural counties across deep blue states such as Illinois and California to split off and form new states appears to be gaining some steam in the wake of the Nov. 5 election.

Conservative residents of the rural regions are taking note of their peers fleeing to lower-taxed and less-regulated red states but they are ready to stay put — pining for a divorce with the urban sectors of their state.

A group dubbed the New Illinois State has drafted a new constitution and championed plans to “Leave Illinois Without Moving.” On Election Day, seven rural counties in Illinois voted to contemplate splitting off from the state.

“There’s a lot of people in Chicago, and I think that they make a lot of decisions that affect people downstate,” Phil Gioja, from Iroquois County, told the Wall Street Journal.

“It’s just sending a message that, ‘Hey, you know, there’s people that would like to be part of the conversation, and often aren’t.’”

In Iroquois County, about 73% of voters backed the idea of banding together with other counties in Illinois, except Cook County, which encompasses Chicago and forming a new state. Chicago is home to about 40% of Illinois’ population.