INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — After a busy first legislative session for Indiana Governor Mike Braun, over 200 laws are set to go into effect next month, including a bill that will set up a commission to review “whether it is advisable to adjust the boundaries between” Indiana and Illinois.
House Bill 1008 will soon establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission that will begin discussing the possibility of reshaping the boundaries between the two states.
The commission will consist of six members appointed by Gov. Braun and five members from Illinois. However, without a similar bill in Illinois, it’s not clear how the commission would move forward.
The conversation about adjusting the borders is nothing new. Several Illinois counties have voted to secede from the state, including seven counties in the November 2024 election.
When the bill passed the Indiana House of Representatives, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican from Fishers and the author of the bill, says Indiana has a lot to offer economically.
“Our economy is growing at a faster rate than all of our neighboring states,” Huston said at the time. “If Illinois residents and counties are looking for something different, we’re simply raising our hands and saying, you’d be welcome in Indiana.”
On the Illinois side, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker called the move a “stunt” that was “not going to happen.”
“I don’t think that’s attractive for anyone in Illinois, where wages are higher and the standard of living is higher, and we do provide health care for people in need,” Pritzker said in January.
In January, Illinois Rep. Brad Halbrook authored House Bill 1500, a bill centered around the creation of the “Illiana Boundary Commission,” a bill that was referred to the rules committee of the Illinois House of Representatives.
Since then, there has not been any movement on that particular bill in the Illinois General Assembly.
