The McDonough County Board passed a resolution “To Add Referenda on November 3, 2026 General Election Ballot for Separation from Cook County”. There are several problems with the resolution.
First, McDonough County and Cook County are each separate and unique legal entities under Illinois law. McDonough County cannot separate from something to which it is not currently connected. (See Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.)
Second, the U.S. Constitution forbids forming a new state within Illinois. The Board should have read Article IV, Section 3 which states as follows: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
Finally, there is a required, complicated process of adding referenda to a ballot and McDonough County is required to pay all costs of the process. Almost 12% of my property tax bill – and every property tax bill - goes directly to McDonough County. I would like to know that the County Board spends that taxpayer money solving real problems such as funding ambulance services at McDonough District Hospital.
Gayle Carper Macomb, IL
