Indiana House approved the bill of Republican House Speaker Tod Huston, which makes a commission to discuss how Illinois Counties can separate from their state and join Indiana.
House Bill 1008, a priority bill for House Republican, passed the chamber on a 69-25 vote on Thursday.
It is one of the headline-hostel bills of the 2025 legislative session, with a debate, often shows political differences between the governments of deep-red Indiana and neighboring Blue Illinois. Huston highlighted some differences on the house floor to the rates of Indiana’s funded pension to the tax rates. (Illinois historically has issues issues of funding their public pension, which are the worst funded in the country.)
“We have really made a great place, and we must take every advantage to ensure that people know about it,” Huston said. “So we have the opportunity to extend our hand and say, ‘Hey, if you are disintegrated, we welcome you or talk about what we do, because we think we really have something good is proposed.”
Subscribe to our political newspaper
Huston filed a bill after the 2024 elections, where a handful of Illinois counted to vote for separation from the state by referendum. Overall, 33 counties in rural parts of more southern, Illinois have expressed interest in separation with liberal state governments due to dissatisfaction and allocation of resources between urban and rural areas. In Indiana, Bill has taken interest from some Democratic MPs who have asked whether the commission can discuss the Indiana counties to join Illinois.
Rape. Ragan Hachcher, D-Gari, voted for the bill in a house committee earlier this week, but voted against it on the floor on Thursday. He urged the MPs to consider weak communities already in Indiana, pointing to previous tasks, Republican has taken up local control in Democratic cities like Gary.
“I think what means to ignore time and time again,” Hacher said. “The law that directly affects Gary has been introduced by MPs from other regions and has been advanced without inputs of those who actually represent the affected communities.”
Taking 33 counties can increase Indiana population, saying that the Hosier state can also be worse than taking Illinois counties. Economists said that Indiana would have increased costs in many fields, from Medicid to funding of education.
But Huston emphasized Huston this week that Bill automatically did not accept the Illinois Counties in the Hosier State.
Huston said on Wednesday, “It is not as if we just walk and we say that we are going to take someone.” “The built -in bill, it makes a commission, a bipartisan commission, to see what it does and what does not understand.”
In Illinois, the Republican rape Brad Halbrook introduced the House Bill 1500 as a fellow bill, which allows the state to participate in the commission, but it is unlikely that the bill moves forward in a democratic-controlled state government Is. Illinois village. JB Pritzkar earlier this year called Indiana bill “A Stunt”.
Republican leaders of Indiana of Lieutenant Gov have praised Huston for the proposal by Micah Bekwith for former Vice President Mike Pence.
Huston’s bill is now headed by the Senate. It is not clear what the senators have for the proposal. Earlier this year, Sen Pro Tempor Rodrick Brey, R-Martinsville said the proposal was “interesting”, but really implementing it “could be a long march.”
Indistar reporters Kayla Dwire and Helegh Colombo contributed to the story.
Contact Instystar State Governg and Politics Reporter Brittany Carloni at Brittany.carloni@indystar.com. Follow it on Twitter/x @carlonibrittany.
