# Why didn't northwestern Cook County secede with DuPage County? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567 "2004-11-18T23:28:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/1 "2004-11-18T23:28:20Z")
This past election, a measure was on the ballot in southern Cook County, Illinois, asking citizens if they wanted to secede from Cook County and form Lincoln County (the measure failed). This got me thinking about other counties that have seceded, namely DuPage County. The way I understand it, Cook County used to be a lot larger than it is today, and at some point DuPage split off. Looking at a map of Chicagoland counties, the county boundaries show this is probably true. But then you notice that there’s still an odd “finger” in northwestern Cook County, which is where I live now (Schaumburg). This area seems a lot more connected to DuPage County to the south than to Cook County and Chicago to the east. So my question is, when DuPage County was created, why wasn’t the entire western portion a part DuPage? Why was this area left a part of Cook County? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/2 "2004-11-18T23:33:20Z")
I can’t speak directly to the OP, but most county boundaries in the U.S. were established in the 19th century or early 20th. They are numerous reasons why certain areas are in certain counties for reasons that make little sense now. But it’s pretty hard in most states to change a county boundary if there is any sizeable population in the affected area. In California, to form a new county, you need a majority vote in both the proposed county and the old county as a whole. And the old county usually will say no. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/3 "2004-11-18T23:59:56Z")
[http://www.dcba.org/brief/sepissue/1999/art30999.htm](http://www.dcba.org/brief/sepissue/1999/art30999.htm) Are you sure DuPage seceeded? I didn’t read very far, and this was a quick Google, but see if it helps. You’re talking about an event 165 years ago, when populations were vastly different. If this link doesn’t help, reply and I’ll go back and try to find some newspaper cites from the day. ---
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/4 "2004-11-19T00:10:31Z")
I could have easily done more research than I did before asking. This is from [http://patsabin.com/dupage/history.htm](http://patsabin.com/dupage/history.htm) “The County of Du Page, is situated in the northern part of the State of Illinois, and consists of a fraction over nine townships. It belonged originally to Cook county, until its separation and organization into a distinct county by act of Legislature, passed at the session of 1839. It is bounded on the north and east by Cook county, on the south by Will and Cook, and on the west by Kane.” My question really is, when DuPage County was created, why wasn’t its boundary extended all the way to Lake County, rather than leaving the northwest finger of Cook County. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/5 "2004-11-19T02:31:35Z")
> [@Thrillhouse15](#): > > My question really is, when DuPage County was created, why wasn’t its boundary extended all the way to Lake County, rather than leaving the northwest finger of Cook County. Maybe to keep O’Hare airport in Cook County? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/6 "2004-11-19T02:48:44Z")
To me, the borders of DuPage county look like sort of rectangular with a little weird jog down on the southern border which was likely dictated by the course of the Des Plaines river at the time. It probably didn’t take in that northern part of Cook County because Cook County didn’t want to give it up back in 1839. Maybe there was a big farm there that some powerful person owned. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/7 "2004-11-19T02:51:50Z")
> [@Thrillhouse15](#): > > My question really is, when DuPage County was created, why wasn’t its boundary extended all the way to Lake County, rather than leaving the northwest finger of Cook County. I’ve been searching, but I can’t find anything. I wonder if the agreement wasn’t based as much on boundaries as it was on raw size. For example, I wonder if the agreement was to “give DuPage county 300 square miles in the form of a square, centered around the Wheaton area” or something similar. Also, it is interesting that some of the south suburbs are considering forming their own Lincoln county. Did you know that there has been a movement to form a Lincoln county that includes your hometown? From [this](http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ii770934.html) article, it looks like the genesis of the idea was born in 1971. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/8 "2004-11-19T02:53:50Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > Maybe to keep O’Hare airport in Cook County? I would be very surprised if O’Hare airport was much of a consideration in 1839. ---
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/9 "2004-11-19T03:32:45Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > I’ve been searching, but I can’t find anything. I wonder if the agreement wasn’t based as much on boundaries as it was on raw size. For example, I wonder if the agreement was to “give DuPage county 300 square miles in the form of a square, centered around the Wheaton area” or something similar. > > Also, it is interesting that some of the south suburbs are considering forming their own Lincoln county. Did you know that there has been a movement to form a Lincoln county that includes your hometown? From [this](http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ii770934.html) article, it looks like the genesis of the idea was born in 1971. The current movement to create Lincoln County is in Southern Cook, around Blue Island, I think. I’d heard that the northwest had the idea, too, but that it died in the 70s and isn’t likely to come back any time soon (I don’t know why). Maybe back then the measure failed because Senator Regner and/or the author of that article didn’t know how to spell “Schaumburg” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/10 "2004-11-19T04:51:07Z")
It looks like DuPage got 9 townships from Cook, and that just happened to be where the boundries were. [http://www.dupageheritage.org/yps/chapter4.html](http://www.dupageheritage.org/yps/chapter4.html) ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/11 "2004-11-19T05:30:02Z")
> [@](#): > > The establishment of DuPage County was brought about amid great political controversy and confusion. Cook County officials recognized the merit of creating a new county from western Cook County townships. A number of plans were advanced, but the one which seemed to have the most support was for the creation of a new county in northwest Cook County, a county that would include Wayne, Bloomingdale and Addison Townships, now the northern townships of DuPage County, and the present six northwest townships in Cook County … Elk Grove, Schaumburg, Hanover, Wheeling, Palatine and Barrington. This would have been a nine-township county just as DuPage County came to be. > > Captain Naper’s challenge was to head off this plan in the Illinois General Assembly and instead get approval for the creation of a new nine-township county in southwestern Cook County. Without the help of Cook County officials, it was not an easy task. > > That the Naper achievement was historic is home out by what has happened since DuPage County was established in the six northwest townships that were forced to remain in Cook County. There have been efforts from time to time to place these townships in a new county. > > A determined move was organized in 1976 to form a new county from the six northwest Cook County Townships. With the backing of the region’s representatives in the General Assembly, an effort was made to secure a large number of citizen signatures to petitions authorizing a referendum on the question of forming a new county. The task proved to be too great to be accomplished. The basic reason for seeking to form a new county was the same in 1976 as it had been in 1839. Even with the fast rail and highway transportation that now exists, the distance to the courthouse in Chicago remains a burden. Site: [http://www.dupageheritage.org/yps/chapter4.html](http://www.dupageheritage.org/yps/chapter4.html) ---
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-northwestern-cook-county-secede-with-dupage-county/275567/12 "2004-11-19T15:54:07Z")
Thanks for the link. It seems amazing that it took three days to get from Naperville to the Cook County courthouse back then. I’ll bet on a Summer Friday during rush hour these days you could make it there in about a day and a half or 2 days. 🙂