Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois, also called Little Egypt, refers to the southern third of Illinois. There is controversy over where the southern region of the state officially begins. Lots of people say Southern Illinois starts from Springfield and southward. A number of others Carbondale north to Springfield don't lay claim to that region of Illinois as being that of Southern Illinois, though. Illinois is in the Midwestern United States. But Southern Illinois has been called far more typical for the Upland South, similar to nearby Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, rather than the Midwest. Locals (Illinois' people) from certain small towns have been part of a movement to completely expel/remove Chicago from the state so a commonwealth can be set up with similar politics to Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana. These small Illinois towns include Athens, Mount Vernon, Urbana and Effingham. The movement is called New Illinois. Under the movement, Southern and Downstate Illinois would be entirely separated from Chicago. The large city would become the 51st state in the United States.