GRAFTON, Ill. — A proposal by two state lawmakers that calls for Illinois to dump the Chicago area and make it its own state has virtually no chance of succeeding but reflects the resentment many downstate residents feel toward the city.
Republican state Reps. Bill Mitchell and Adam Brown say downstate families are tired of Chicago forcing its liberal views on them.
They say making Cook County the nation's 51st state would allow Illinois to be more like Republican-led Indiana to its east.
Such a move would be financially disastrous to the rest of Illinois. The Chicago area last year generated 81.6 percent of Illinois' gross state product.
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