I’ve got some friends in Illinois who hate living there.

Don’t get me wrong; they love their communities and the people. They don’t even mind the winters, an idea baffling to this Georgia boy. No, what they hate about life there is how Chicago dominates the political landscape to such a degree that they don’t feel their voices matter, particularly on topics like gun rights.

Now, a bill has been introduced that would break the state in two, allowing Chicago to be Chicago and the rural parts of the state to be free of the Windy City’s shadow. One of the prime drivers? Gun rights.

An Illinois lawmaker has filed a bill in the state capital to separate Chicago from Illinois, thereby creating the 51st state and freeing the state from Chicago’s baleful influence.

The bill is being cosponsored by Republican C.D. Davidsmeyer, the representative for the 100th House District in Jacksonville, a city in Morgan County, Illinois, in the central west area of the Land of Lincoln.

“It’s more of a frustration of the policies than the true belief that Chicago and Illinois would be better off as separate states,” Davidsmeyer said, according to Fox News.

Davidsmeyer claimed he cosponsored the bill to spark a discussion about how Chicago’s policy choices affect the rest of the state, most of which are not nearly as left-wing as the Windy City.

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One example of those differing ideals is Chicago’s campaign against the Second Amendment. The bill notes that many of the counties in the state are bucking Chicago’s gun policies by declaring themselves “gun rights sanctuaries.”

“Numerous counties in the southern and central parts of Illinois are approving resolutions to become sanctuary counties for gun owners, while the City of Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country,” the bill states.

“When you have a large population center that seems to control the agenda for the rest of the state, it just kind of creates some issues,” Halbrook added.

These are issues we see in several states, not just Illinois.

Further, this isn’t a new thing. There’s been a growing movement in the state calling for just this kind of separation. Frankly, rural citizens of Illinois are sick and tired of Chicago having such an outsized impact on their state, rendering them little more than the subjects of the metropolis. If Chicago wants gun control, Chicago gets gun control, and that’s an issue.

Now, the question is, does this have a shot in hell of happening?

It’s unlikely. There’s virtually no path for this happening that doesn’t run through Democrats, and the last thing they’re going to want is another red state that will create two senators and dilute the electoral votes from a trusted stronghold. They’re not likely to back this in any way, shape, or form. Which, unfortunately, is a shame.

The truth is, those living in these rural communities have a good inkling of what our Founding Fathers endured before the American revolution. While they do get a vote, it’s not like it matters too much when Chicago is holding so much electoral power, which is why they’re stuck with Illinois-style gun control.