Why not restructure states?

Who says we need to be 50 states? (Or 51 if the District of Columbia becomes a state.) Why not restructure the United States to better represent constituents?

In Illinois, we are dominated politically by Chicago. I enjoyed living in the city for a good chunk of my life but now live in the suburbs. I grew up in central Illinois, and my ancestry has roots in the St. Louis area and southern Illinois. These areas are politically underrepresented, analogous to D.C. and its argument.

There is no reason each of these areas should be subject to the dominance of Cook County and metropolitan Chicago. Should the potential opportunities in upstate New York be smothered by New York City?

I think we are at the precipice of great change to truly help the middle and working classes, which might include breaking apart and creating new states to invigorate American manufacturing competitiveness. We could repatriate manufacturing to the U.S., leveraging the lower-cost areas of the country.

Could Benton or West Frankfort in southern Illinois compete with cities in China and manufacture products at a competitive cost? I bet they could, but not if they are stuck with a state-mandated $15 minimum wage.

How about East St. Louis? Imagine what we could do for that metro area if we untethered it from regulations that primarily are centered on Chicago. If we are serious about helping the working class and the underserved and underrepresented in our country, perhaps it’s time we disrupt the static structure we have and look for real ways and a corresponding free economic structure to serve our country’s people and help them thrive.

Central Illinois and southern Illinois are full of talented, diverse people.

— Scott W. Crawford,

Lake Forest