The case for and against chicago illinois political power.

Chicago, the third most populous city in the United States, wields outsized political power in Illinois, where Chicago-area Democrats hold a veto-proof supermajority in the state legislature ^{[1] U Up First from NPR The growing movement to secede from Illinois and become the 51st state — Connor Towne O'Neill "Chicago's massive population gives it a veto-proof Democratic supermajority in the state legislature, leaving rural conservative counties p…" 02:41 Play} . This imbalance has fueled a growing rural secession movement, with non-binding separation referendums passing in 33 downstate counties ^{[1] U Up First from NPR The growing movement to secede from Illinois and become the 51st state — Connor Towne O'Neill "Chicago's massive population gives it a veto-proof Democratic supermajority in the state legislature, leaving rural conservative counties p…" 02:41 Play} . Meanwhile, on Chicago's South Side, the $850 million Obama Presidential Center has opened to mixed reactions — celebrated as a landmark yet blamed for displacement pressures that have quadrupled home prices in Woodlawn over a decade ^{[2] T The Indicator from Planet Money Obama's new Presidential Center and his tricky relationship with the South Side — Gene Demby "The Obama Presidential Center opened on Chicago's South Side as a $850 million monument to hope — but right across the street, Hyde Park Ac…" 00:35 Play} .