An Iowa Republican lawmaker wants to pursue a study on absorbing counties in Illinois, where a secessionist movement has grown fueled by divisions over the Prairie State’s policy direction.

A proposal from Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, House File 2141, would establish an “Iowa-Illinois boundary adjustment committee” to consider whether to move the dividing line between the two states by transferring one or more Illinois counties along the Iowa border to the Hawkeye State.

Collins said the bill would primarily look at all counties that along the Mississippi River.

“As somebody that represents really a district that’s right along the border and along the Mississippi River, I know many folks on both sides of the river, and I know there’s a lot of folks in the high-tax state of Illinois that’s now basically supporting career criminals,” Collins said. “They would love to be Iowa residents, and many of them have taken the steps to actually move to the state of Iowa.”

If advanced, Iowa would follow in the footsteps of Indiana, where Gov. Mike Braun in 2025 signed a law creating a commission to explore the possibility of annexing parts of Illinois. That passed after more than 30 Illinois counties voted on nonbinding referendums to secede from the Democratic-led state of Illinois over differences in policy and political ideology with Chicago.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat eyeing a run for the White House in 2028, had called Indiana’s legislation a “stunt.”

“I’ll just say Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people when they’re in need, and so I don’t think it’s attractive for anybody in Illinois where wages are higher where the standard of living is higher, and we do provide health care for people in need,” he said.

This is not the first Iowa proposal looking to take a neighboring state’s counties.

Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, introduced a bill in 2025 proposing to enter into negotiations with Iowa’s northern neighbor and allow Iowa to buy nine southern Minnesota counties. It never received a subcommittee hearing.

Under Collins’ bill, the boundary adjustment study committee would be made up of:

• Six individuals from the state of Iowa who are not lawmakers or appointees of the governor.
• No more than four members of the same political party.
• Five individuals from Illinois appointed under Illinois state law.

Some Chicago-area schools have already announced closures or shifts to e-learning for this week in advance of dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills as low as -40.

The announcements come as the National Weather Service issued an extreme cold warning for all of northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin, with expected wind chills as low as -30 to -40 degrees. According to the NWS, the warning will go into effect at 3 a.m. Friday.

Ahead of the temperature plummet, here’s which schools have announced closures so far, how to check the status of your school and more.

Are Illinois schools closed tomorrow?

No closures or e-learning plans were in effect for Thursday, but some schools have already announced closures or possible closings for Friday, according to the Emergency Closing Center.

Bridgeport Catholic Academy in Chicago said “due to the extreme cold” it will be switching to eLearning for Friday.

“Students will be reminded to take home any necessary materials tomorrow,” the school said in an alert to parents.

River Trails School District 26 in Mount Prospect issued a note to families saying they are “closely monitoring the predicted extreme cold temperatures.” A final decision was expected by noon Thursday.

In the northern suburbs, Lake Forest Community High School issued a similar message, saying a decision about Friday classes would be made at 12 p.m. Thursday.

“Updates on Sat., Jan. 24 activities, including the LFHS Winter Formal, will also be communicated by noon on Thursday, Jan. 22,” the school said.

Grace Lutheran School in River Forest, Ashburn Christian Academy in Orland Park and St. John The Baptist Catholic School in Winfield will all be closed Friday, per the Emergency Closing Center.

Will Chicago Public Schools close?

The threshold for when weather is wintry enough to close schools isn’t decided by a particular degree of temperatures or amount of snowfall, instead, several factors typically go into the decision making process on if a school will close.

For Chicago Public Schools, the district said it “works closely with the experts at the City’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication (OEMC) to help guide decision-making when it comes to school closures.”

The following criteria is evaluated before a decision is made:

• Air temperature and wind chill
• The amount of snow and ice on the ground
• The accessibility of buildings and roads
• Potential issues with heating/cooling systems or power outages
• The ability to transport students safely on buses

CPS noted that its maintenance crews regularly test equipment and heating systems to ensure they’re working properly, the district said, and every school has a snow removal plan to keep sidewalks, walkways and parking lots clear for students and staff.

“CPS also closely monitors weather forecasts and makes all decisions related to school closings based on the health and safety of our students,” their website states.

How to check Illinois school closings

Families can check for the latest on their school using the link below:

CHECK SCHOOL CLOSINGS HERE (NOTE: If you are accessing this link from our app, please go to your mobile browser).

Many school districts also post about closings on social media and on their website homepage, and communicate with their school community via phone, email and text message notifications.