INDIANAPOLIS — On May 1, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a new law creating the Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission.

The goal of the commission is to explore taking counties from Illinois and adding them to Indiana . Thirty-three Illinois counties have held non-binding referendums saying they don't want to be in the same state as Chicago. Some of those counties are on the border with Indiana; others border Iowa.

On July 1, the border commission will be created. Then the governor of Indiana will appoint six members who are not members of the general assembly. The governor of Illinois gets to appoint five members "under Illinois law."

The first meeting of the commission is to be held no later than Sept. 1, 2025. It needs to meet at least once every year.

The commission can only take action with a quorum. But a quorum is six members. So all of Indiana's appointees can meet and make decisions, even if none of the Illinois commissioners are ever appointed.

The goal of the commission is to "discuss and recommend" whether the border between Indiana and Illinois should be adjusted. Once that commission discusses the the issue, it will issue a report to the general assembly.

If it recommends changing the border, then the Indiana general assembly, Illinois state legislature and the U.S. Congress would need to approve any change.

When the bill first passed, its author, House Speaker Todd Huston, spoke on the goals of the bill.

"Indiana is a great place to live, work, raise your kids and enjoy a high quality of life," Huston said. "We welcome our neighbors in Illinois seeking lower taxes and more opportunity to join us in the Hoosier state. House Enrolled Act 1008 starts that conversation, and I'm eager to see it become law."

Which counties are we talking about?

As of April 17, 33 Illinois counties have voted to leave that state. The language in the referenda, which are non-binding, all focusing on being in a different state from Chicago. None of the counties had joining Indiana on their ballots.

Illinois has a population of almost 13 million people. About half of them live in the greater Chicago area. That gives Chicago a dominant position in Illinois state government and leads to the state's strong Democratic voting track record. But while most Illinoisans live in Democratic districts, the majority of the state's land is in rural communities dominated by Republican politicians.

"Our governor claims we're one Illinois," Loret Newlin, director/coordinator of Illinois Separation Referendum , said. "But those of us who live outside Cook County know we aren't and haven't been. We don't see a way to fix it."

The cultural divide between rural Illinois and urban Chicago is wide. In the hope of getting more representation, a movement began for rural counties of Illinois to leave Chicago, and Cook County in particular, behind.

Since the movement began, 33 Illinois counties have passed "advisory referenda" to secede from the state of Illinois. The vote in those counties hasn't been close.

"Seventy-four percent approval," Newlin said. "It's not just barely squeaking by."

The language in those referenda would create a new state. That would require congressional approval and the approval of the Illinois legislature.

Joining Indiana, an existing state, wouldn't be any easier. In fact, it might be harder.

Constitutional requirements

Huston's proposal for Illinois counties to join Indiana was a surprise to the organizers pushing for secession across the border.

"I think it's awesome that he's taking this seriously," G.H. Merritt said. She is the chairman of the board of New Illinois , a grassroots group in Illinois pushing for counties to leave the state.

"But there are things about this that it didn't seem he was aware of," Merritt said, in a phone call with 13News.

Merritt said that under the U.S. Constitution, you need the approval of a state legislature and Congress for counties to leave a state. And for state's to redraw their borders, "you'd need the consent of both legislatures and Congress."

That would be tough. Republicans hold a supermajority in Indiana, but Democrats hold a supermajority in Illinois. Illinois leaders have expressed zero interest in allowing counties to leave the state.

"It’s also, frankly, too easy to let partisanship and regional differences divide us,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “The idea that some place in Illinois wants to kick out another place in Illinois should not be on the ballot. It shouldn't be something that's part of a lexicon and discussion of politicians. We're one state.”

The Illinois Attorney General issued an opinion that counties can't leave the state on their own . The Supreme Court of the United States agrees. In the 1907 Hunter v. Pittsburgh , Justice William Moody wrote "Municipal corporations (counties) are political subdivisions of the state, created by it and at all times wholly under its legislative control."

Newlin also said that Illinois secessionists are divided on the topic.

"One group wants to form a new state and would not be interested in joining Indiana," Newlin said. "A second group would prefer to join Indiana or Missouri. The third group doesn't care, they just want to separate from the state (Illinois)."

Newlin said the option of joining Indiana wasn't on the referendum, to avoid splitting the vote.

"If Indiana were to want us, they should not presume all 33 counties wanted to join. We'd need a separate referendum," Newlin said.

A high cost to Indiana

Even if Illinois leaders changed their mind and Congress got on board, Indiana may not actually want the counties.

"The problem is that Illinois is about $150 billion in debt," Merritt said. "If you take 10% of the state, a portion of the debt will come like an evil dowry."

Illinois has 92 counties, so absorbing all 33 that have voted to leave would be about 35% of the state. Calculations about the size of Illinois debt vary, but...

"Would Indiana want to take on $30 billion of debt?" Merritt asked. "I kind of doubt it."

Moreover, many of the counties that are voting to leave Illinois are struggling. A report titled " The Politics of Public Budgeting in Illinois " found that some of these counties take almost twice as much state money as they pay in taxes.

Indiana Democrats think even talking about the move is a waste of lawmakers' time and takes attention from more practical issues.