Gov. Mike Braun (R-IN) plans to sign recently passed legislation to explore options for bringing Illinois counties under Indiana’s control.

A spokesman for Braun’s office confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Monday that the governor plans to sign off on the bill, which would create the “Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission.” The Indiana House passed the measure, adding some amendments from the state Senate’s text. 

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The commission, made up of five representatives from Indiana and five from Illinois, will be tasked with evaluating the location of the boundary between the two states and whether counties that seek to leave Illinois would be permitted to be annexed by Indiana.

The bill was originally proposed by Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, who said more than 30 counties in Illinois have voted to secede since 2020. 

The counties, many of which are on the Illinois-Indiana border, cite disagreements with the state’s population center, Chicago, and high taxes in Illinois. They voted in November 2024 on the question of whether the counties should explore “the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state and to seek admission to the Union as such.”

“To all of our neighbors to the west, we hear your frustrations,” Huston said earlier this year. “Instead of seceding and creating a 51st state, they should just join us.”

Earlier this year, Indiana Secretary of Business Affairs Mike Speedy, a member of Braun’s Cabinet, testified in favor of the push.

“Indiana is a great place to start and raise a family, where public safety is paramount, family values flourish, and where economic growth is the standard, not the exception,” he said. “Illinoisians have noticed the stark contrast, and they want freedom, a pro-opportunity, pro-business state.”

Even with Braun’s approval, the overall push to annex these counties has an uncertain future as it would require the approval of the Illinois state legislature, which has a Democratic majority. Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has dismissed the idea of Indiana taking counties from Illinois, calling it a “stunt.”

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“It’s not going to happen,” Pritzker said earlier this year. “But I’ll just say that Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers, a state that does not provide healthcare for people when they’re in need, and so I don’t think it’s very attractive for anybody in Illinois.”

The push would also require Congress’s approval, as it has the final say over all border debates between states.