Will 'Flatlander' Proposal Flat-Line?

(From the Janesville Messenger, 4-1-07)


Are you ready to be a Flatlander?

That’s the question we will all face on the November 2007 ballot when we vote on a referendum that would allow Rock County to secede from Wisconsin and officially become part of the state of Illinois.

This ballot question hasn’t gained a lot of momentum yet as it awaits action by the Rock County Board of Supervisors. Rock County is just one of three counties being courted by Illinois, along with Walworth County and Kenosha County. In the case of Walworth County, the move is a no-brainer; Lake Geneva is practically a Chicago suburb now. If the measures are passed, it would represent the first significant change to state boundaries since West Virginia split from Virginia during the Civil War.

It’s a smart move on the part of Illinois, as people = tax revenue and the three counties above would certainly provide that for the state. And there are certainly advantages for us to consider changing sides.

For one, it opens the door to extending Metra commuter rail service from Harvard to Janesville. For another, we’ll be escaping from a state that has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. And we can proudly claim Abraham Lincoln as our native son.

If your driving ability is below average, you’ll fit right in as an Illinoisan. And won’t it be nice to be part of a state whose inhabitants aren’t viewed by the rest of the nation as beer-bellied sots wearing foam cheese wedges for hats?

Of course, there are downsides. We would probably see a tollbooth spring up on I-90 near Edgerton. And we would inherit the Bears and the Cubs (though unlike the Brewers, the Cubs have an occasional winning season). And we would inherit a Governor whose name is so unpronounceable that they just refer to him as Governor Rod.

We’ll have a learning curve for a lot of things, not just our new Governor’s name. For example, at what point in Illinois does it become “downstate”? Where do you go to purchase an I-Pass? How far in each direction does “Chicagoland” go? How fast can I cut across three lanes of traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway?

It’s a big decision, changing states. Unfortunately, I worry that the referendum will fail due to voters fretting over minute details like changing zip codes and area codes, or paying for new license plates. Though Governor Rod has floated an idea in the Illinois State Legislature that he would waive our first-year vehicle registration fees as an incentive for us to vote yes.

Of course, if the County Board doesn’t vote to put this referendum on the ballot, then this discussion is a moot point. I suggest you call your Rock County Board representative and let him or her know how you feel. And their response to you will probably be: “April Fool.”