In small towns and farm communities across Illinois, a quiet rebellion is taking shape. Frustrated by what they see as decades of corruption, crime, and one-party dominance from Chicago, a growing number of residents are rallying behind a campaign to carve out a brand-new state—New Illinois.
Led by G.H. Merritt, the group says its goal isn’t to leave the Union, but to escape what they call political neglect from the state’s urban power base.
“This is not secession,” Merritt insisted. “Secession is when the southern states just up and left the Union. What we’re doing is legal and constitutional—we need the consent of our legislature and of Congress. We don’t identify with the Confederacy. That was a racist movement, and that’s not what we are.”…