TIME TO TRY ANOTHER WAY

For decades we have pursued a strategy of enticing businesses and industry to relocate in Southern Illinois by offering free or low cost land, tax breaks, low wages, employee training at public expense, and other incentives.

What’s wrong with Southern Illinois that we should have to pay businesses to locate here? We have a good land—full of good, hard-working people. We should take more pride in Southern Illinois. If we would first establish an economic foundation based on our native resources and skills, then business and industry would seek us out and not the other way round.

We have coal, limestone, and fluorspar; apple and peach orchards; vineyards and wineries. We raise corn and soybeans; cattle and horses. We are bordered by two of the world’s great rivers, the Mississippi and Ohio. The Shawnee National Forest lies within our borders and provides abundance of recreational and tourism opportunities. We have a beautiful land. We are the prize to be won, not beggars going hat in hand to anyone with a job to offer.

It is time for all Southern Illinoisans to enjoy the prosperity that has eluded so many of our citizens for decades. We are all Southern Illinoisans, and we will not prosper until we find it in our hearts to adopt that common identity and not allow ourselves to be divided into competing towns, counties, regions or special interests.

It’s time to try another way. It’s time for a philosophy of self-reliance and personal initiative. It’s time for a philosophy of government that recognizes that a man is entitled to keep the rewards of his own effort—that it is not the role of government to take from one man to give to another. This is a world of abundance; there is enough for everyone. But the key that unlocks the door to that abundance does not lie in the hands of government but in the imagination, initiative, and energy of each individual.

Freedom and responsibility are inseparable. With every responsibility that society delegates to government there is a corresponding loss of personal freedom.

Southern Illinoisans are a strong and hardy people. We do not lack the will or strength to labor for the well-being of our families and communities. What we lack is a unifying common vision.

Our destiny lies in our own decisions and in our willingness to unite in a common cause—not in the policies and paternalism of government!

The government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, the people alone have an incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to institute government and to reform, alter, or totally change the same when their protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness require it.

John Adams

CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

The establishment of a new Constitution must be among the first considerations of a new state. A Constitution which recognizes that the power of the State rests in the people and that the State has only those powers delegated to it by the people.

The Magna Charta of 1215 limited the government only by those provisions stated in the document. All other powers still resided in the King. The American Constitution turned this notion on its head. The people retained all powers not delegated to the government. Now the present Illinois Constitution has again reversed the concept and restored all power to the government except those it "gives" to the people.

The Constitution of the new State must rectify this situation. It must be written in clear, concise, and unambiguous terms that all rights and obligation rest with the people and are then delegated to the government. The government has only those power delegated to it and not more.

SOVEREIGNTY

The creation of a compelling vision of the future is the beginning of the path to sovereignty. Societies will move toward sovereignty when they begin to have a sense of independent identity, purpose, and self-confidence. When the impulse to self-reliance finds expression in an individual, society, or community, it will clothe itself in a newly acquired self-identity and awaken a will to transform current conditions into a long-term prosperity.

Individual and family effort is the essential ingredient in building a prosperous, productive society. The role of government is to maintain an environment in which such effort may thrive. Great civilizations are created when individuals nurture family interests while addressing the needs of society through involvement in religion, politics, education, and the arts.

The most significant contributions occur when such efforts follow a conscious and structured approach. Sovereignty is the result of a conscious decision that must be conceived, planned, and executed over time.

Individuals, communities, and societies which lack the desire and courage to define and control their own destiny will be absorbed and dominated by other more energetic societies. Societies, as well as individuals, must assert control over their own destinies or they will be controlled by others. The impulse toward self-assertion is most strongly manifested when competition exists. Adverse conditions bring out either the will to strive and assert one’s dominion over circumstances.

The oppressive political and economic environment in which Southern Illinois now finds itself can produce either the will to assert ourselves and take control of our own destiny; or we can continue to be subservient to the Chicago/Springfield political system and live as second class citizens.

ITS TIME FOR SOUTHERN ILLINOIS STATEHOOD!

What others have to say about Southern Illinois Statehood.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2009/01/30/opinion/letters/doc49828688664dd195569042.txt

How do we go about making Southern Illinois a State?

Under Article IV, Section Three of the United States Constitution, which outlines the relationship among the states, Congress has the power to admit new states to the union. The states are required to give "full faith and credit" to the acts of each other's legislatures and courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of legal contracts, marriages, and criminal judgments. The states are guaranteed military and civil defense by the federal government, which is also obligated by Article IV, Section Four, to "guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government."

New states are admitted into the Union by the precedents and procedures established by the Northwest Ordinance. Following the precedent established by the Enabling Act of 1802, an Enabling Act must be passed by Congress as a prerequisite to admission. The act authorizes the people of a territory to frame a constitution, and lays down the requirements that must be met prior to consideration for statehood.

The logistics of bringing about Southern Illinois Statehood are fairly simple.
First, a petition to request a State wide referendum to consider the question;
Second, a request to Congress to pass an Enabling Act;
Next, a constitutional convention and the drafting of a constitution for the new State;
And finally, fulfill other requirements as directed by Congress.

WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS STATEHOOD.
http://www.thecaperock.com/articles/2001/06/little-egypt

CHRONIC HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT & POVERTY

In January 2009 seven of the 21 counties of deep Southern Illinois had unemployment rates of more than 10%.

COUNTIES % UNEMPLOYMENT

Franklin 12.2%

Hamilton 10.0%

Hardin 10.6%

Perry 12.4%

Pope 10.2%

Pulaski 10.7%

Union 11.9%

Overall there were 17,623 people unemployed in January in a labor force of 189,697. The twenty-one counties have an overall unemployment rate of 9.3% while the State as a whole has a rate of 8.5% and the national rate of 7.6%.

This is not at all unusual for the economy of the southernmost counties of Illinois. And as long as Illinois State government is dominated by Chicago our southern economy will continue to be neglected.

In the 2000 census the State median household income was $46,500.

At that time the median household income for the southernmost counties of Illinois was $29,200. That is 63% of the state median household income—Southern Illinoisans earned 63 cents on the dollar compared to the State average. For those over 65 years of age living in Southern Illinois it is even worse. Their median household income was only $24,300. That is only 52% of the state median household income!

To put these figures in perspective; an income of $23,650 puts a family of three below the poverty level.

More resent surveys indicate that 24% of the people, and 57% of the children, of Cairo live in poverty while 42% of the children of Pulaski county live in poverty. Over 70,000 Southern Illinoisans live in poverty!

It is time to take our economic development in our own hands, and the surest way to do that is to control our own affairs as a sovereign State! Southern Illinois will never prosper as long as we are dominated by Chicago politics. We cannot do worse on our own and I am convinced we can do a lot better! One hundred and ninety years of being second class citizens in our own State is long enough. It’s time to separate and go our own way.

IT’S TIME FOR SOUTHERN ILLINOIS STATEHOOD!

You may comment on this blog by e-mailing "si51ststate@gmail.com"

The Land Called Egypt

http://www.egyptianaaa.org/SI-History.htm
(for more on "Egypt" click on the above link)

Southern Illinois joined the union in 1818. I say Southern Illinois joined the union, for at that time there was no northern Illinois. As the state developed the population and industrial and commercial activities moved steadily north, until today only 3 ½ percent of the population of the state lives in the 21 Southernmost Illinois counties. For 190 years the region has lagged behind the rest of the state.

Southern Illinois must change. Whether we call it The Southern Illinois enlightenment, or reformation, or renaissance, or great awakening, we must change. We must make quantum leaps forward. We demand to little of ourselves—we think to small and settle for to little. We must take to heart the words of Alexander Hamilton, “Wise political leaders march at the head of affairs. They do not wait for events—but know what actions to take. The actions they take will produce the events."

There is in each of us a spiritual power over which circumstance has no control. Our material, financial, and social progress as a region will not happen until we awaken that spiritual potential lying fallow and unexpressed within and rouse ourselves to purposeful and united action. It is said that, "God does not change the condition of a people until they first change what is in their hearts."

We must think of ourselves as Southern Illinoisans first, and then as citizens of our communities. I am convinced that until we adopt that mind-set we will never achieve the unity and prosperity we desire for ourselves, our children, and our grand children.

The answers to the problems that face Southern Illinois are not to be found in Springfield or in Washington. The answers are to be found in the hearts and minds of the citizens of Southern Illinois. Within every community reside the ideas, interests, and unique talents necessary for its own advancement. The ability of the community to seize the initiative and accept responsibility for its actions is the most dynamic and certain means of development.

IT IS TIME FOR SOUTHERN ILLINOIS STATEHOOD!!!