The growing movement to secede from Illinois and become the 51st state

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4.6 • 59K Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

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Summary

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Declaration of Independence was signed, marking the birth of a new nation. But if you read the Declaration closely, it’s not just about creating something new; it’s about ridding itself of something unwanted. It’s a break-up text, announcing secession from the British Crown. Today, that same spirit is fueling a modern-day movement in Illinois.

A growing number of rural counties want to secede from Illinois and create a 51st state called “New Illinois.” Driven by frustration over the dominance of Chicago politics, they are organizing for a new future. This week on The Sunday Story, reporter Connor Towne O'Neill takes us inside the movement to split Illinois, and the challenges facing a modern secessionist movement in the land of Lincoln.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Aisha Roscoe, and you're listening to The Sunday Story from Up First.
0:04.7	250 years ago this weekend, the Declaration of Independence was signed.
0:10.2	It marked the beginning of American democracy.
0:13.8	This year, NPR has been looking at how things have gone.
0:17.7	In the series, America in Pursuit,
0:25.0	stories from 250 years of life, liberty, and happiness.
0:30.6	Americans tend to think about the Declaration of Independence as a founding document,
0:34.8	the start of something, the text that brought the country together.
0:40.1	But if you read it closely, you realize it's also a breakup text.
0:47.6	A good portion of the Declaration of Independence is saying it's not you, it's me, this is just not going to work. We don't work well together, you know. So in addition to being a document
0:54.1	declaring freedom, the Declaration of Independence
0:57.7	is also a document of secession.
1:02.0	Today we have a story about a group of people who see themselves as following in a fundamentally
1:08.3	American tradition, a group of people who are claiming their right to declare their independence
1:14.5	from a state they feel no longer represents them.
1:18.3	We the people of the counties of New Illinois solemnly publish and declare that these counties are
1:27.0	and of right ought to be a free and independent
1:30.7	state.
1:34.4	When we come back, a modern-day secessionist movement in the state of Illinois, stay with us.
1:43.6	We're back with the Sunday story.
1:45.4	I'm joined by reporter Conertown O'Neill.
1:48.4	He's spent months following a group of people who want to split up Illinois and create a 51st state.
	...

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