Indiana House legislators gave initial approval to a bill aimed at redrawing the Indiana-Illinois border Wednesday, but the bill continues to open up a Pandora’s box of amendments — from marijuana legalization to allowing Indiana counties to secede.
Indiana House Bill 1008, authored by Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states. The commission would include five members appointed by the Indiana governor and five members appointed under Illinois law.
The whole House chamber discussed the bill for the first time Wednesday, with three Democratic lawmakers proposing amendments that would open the way for Indiana counties to leave the state, only allow Indiana to take fiscally responsible Illinois counties and legalize marijuana in Indiana.
All three amendments failed.
Rep. Ryan Dvorak proposed an amendment that would allow Indiana county councils to adopt a resolution to allow a ballot public question regarding the possibility of their county either joining a different existing state or forming a new state.
Dvorak, D-South Bend, said he’s had an interest in state boundaries for many years, and he even discussed with colleagues how to propose a similar bill in previous sessions.
“It makes even more sense today for us as a nation that needs to function and live with each other to look at how we work and operate as a Democratic Republic, that we actually represent the will of our constituents. That gets harder and harder to do when you have larger and larger arbitrary boundaries enclosing whole different groups of people,” Dvorak said.
Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, asked Huston a similar question about the possibility of Indiana counties, like Lake County, shifting into Illinois during Monday’s hearing in the House Government and Regulatory Reform committee. Huston said then that anything could be considered, but he cautioned against the idea.
Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis, said his amendment focused on fiscal responsibility and economic growth. Speaking to a supermajority Republican chamber, Johnson joked his amendment “sticks it to those liberals in Illinois with their legal cannabis, higher wages and higher ranking in quality of life, water, healthcare, education and Chicago-style hotdogs.”
Johnson proposed an amendment that would require the commission to study the financial feasibility of only accepting Illinois counties that contribute more to the Illinois tax base than receiving from it.
“Surely we’re not looking to turn Indiana into a charity state extending our benevolent hand to the places that have been economically dependent on the largesse of Springfield for decades,” Johnson said.
Huston said Illinois would benefit from Indiana’s pro-growth and pro-economic development policies.
“What might be a struggling county today could be an oasis of economic freedom in the future,” Huston said.
Johnson also filed an amendment that would direct the commission to study how to raise Indiana’s minimum wage to the level of Illinois’ minimum wage, but he didn’t call it for a vote.
Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, proposed an amendment that would direct the commission to discuss and recommend whether Indiana should adopt Illinois policies on legalized marijuana.
Harris joked he proposed the amendment for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jeffrey Thompson, who often says the state doesn’t have enough money to fund projects. With his amendment, Harris said Indiana would have a new revenue source that could be used for infrastructure, healthcare, public safety and other issues, he said.
The commission would look at all aspects, from laws and policies to economic impacts, of redrawing the border, Huston said.
Huston drafted the bill after he learned that nearly three dozen Illinois counties have voted in recent years to leave the state, he said.
In November, seven Illinois counties — Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties — voted to secede from the state. Iroquois County is along the Indiana border, the remaining six counties are closer to Missouri.
Huston mentioned the ballot measure results in Monday’s hearing. He also said that since the COVID-19 pandemic more than 100,000 people from Illinois have moved to Indiana.
Indiana has a balanced budget, a AAA credit rating, low debt, a growing economy and school voucher programs, Huston said. Illinois has an unfunded pension debt, high taxes and fewer options for school choice, he said.
“We don’t want to see our neighbors to the west languish. Ultimately, their success or failure affects our own success or failure,” Huston said in committee. “To the Illinois counties and residents feeling unheard and unrepresented, we hear you and we’d like to invite you to come back home again to Indiana.”
To change a state line, the U.S. Constitution dictates that the Indiana legislature, the Illinois legislature and then Congress would have to approve the measure, said Indiana University Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Paul Helmke.
“It’s sort of a useless measure. Nothing exactly like this has happened in U.S. history before, and I think it’s unlikely to happen here,” Helmke said. “It’s an interesting idea, but it’s not going to go anywhere.”
House Bill 1008 begins the conversation of moving the state line, Huston said. Illinois State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, has filed a companion bill in Illinois, Huston said.
Halbrook said he filed Illinois House Bill 1500, which “does similar things and is comparable to the Indiana bill.”
Gov. JB Pritzker brushed off the proposal – and fired back at the neighboring state – when he was asked about it at an unrelated news conference last month.
“It’s a stunt. It’s not going to happen,” Pritzker said. “But I’ll just say that Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people in need, and so I don’t think it’s very attractive for anybody in Illinois.”
G.H. Merritt, chairwoman of New Illinois, was one of six people to testify before the House Government and Regulatory Reform committee in favor of the bill. Two organizations in Illinois are working toward succeeding from Illinois and creating a new state, Merritt said.
“Our biggest grievance is that we are not represented. We don’t have government of the people, by the people and for the people. Our governor accuses us of wanting to kick Chicago out of Illinois. Not so, we want to kick ourselves out of Illinois,” Merritt said. “Our goal is the constitutional formation of a new state separate from Illinois.”
Illinois outside of Cook County has more in common with Indiana, Merritt said, like fiscal discipline and lower taxes.
“We very much appreciate that you see us, that you hear us, that you empathize with our experience. We wish our own state government would do the same,” Merritt said. “We thank the leadership of Indiana for recognizing our pain.”
The bill moves forward for final consideration by the House.
