A boost to the effort to secede from Cook County?

The idea that no one could shake the stronghold of the nation's second largest county has been around for decades.

But while detractors call it everything from impractical to comical, the prospect of the Northwest suburbs breaking away from Cook County might have gained some momentum after board President Todd Stroger's visit to the suburbs Monday.

Stroger said a movement to split from the county would face many obstacles, but that he won't be one of them.

"Using county time and money to fight people who don't want to be part of the county … I have so many problems right now," he told a Harper College auditorium packed with about 250 people. "This is a local issue."

State Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, filed legislation in February that would make it easier for townships to break away.

He said Stroger's visit may raise residents' expectations about the quality and extent of county services coming to the area. That, in turn, could give Murphy's bill a push.

"I've not naïve, but if there is some sort of real public education campaign I think we'd have a good chance of (passing the bill)," he said.

But Murphy might not get much support aside from state Rep. Suzie Bassi, another Palatine Republican who's sponsoring an identical bill in the House.

Some local officials haven't totally nixed the idea of secession. Still, none plan on taking the driver's seat in the breakaway movement despite their outrage over the county board's recent 1-percentage-point sales tax hike.

The only area mayors announced at the Stroger meeting Monday were Palatine's Rita Mullins and Inverness' Jack Tatooles -- though several town boards had regularly scheduled meetings at the same time of Stroger's appearance.

Even Mullins, who's helped lead the charge in demanding answers from Stroger, favors alternatives to secession.

"Open dialogue may be a better way to go than proposing a coup," she said. "It would take a lot of money, time and energy."

She's leaving the legislative legwork to Murphy and Bassi and says secession is "impossible and impractical" in the meantime.

Tatooles won't be down in Springfield lobbying on behalf of the bill, either.

"I don't know how practical it is because this is a monumental task they're seeking and a very cumbersome procedure," he said.

Arlington Heights Village President Arlene Mulder has said that while she wants to keep an open mind, the process of trying to secede would be "too complicated, time-consuming and certainly costly."

Interim Wheeling Village President Pat Horcher could get on board, but only if he "saw a clearly structured rebellion."

As the law stands now, a majority of all Cook County voters would have to approve any breakaway proposal for any segment of the county.

The proposed bill would require only a majority of voters residing in the townships calling for disconnection. And just 10 percent of those voters would have to sign a petition to get the issue on the ballot, as opposed to 51 percent now.

The bill is one of hundreds stuck in the rules committee, which Murphy and Bassi say is controlled by Cook County. State Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, is the gatekeeper.

Stroger maintains he won't block any town wanting to leave. He instead listed what he sees as pitfalls of seceding: spending money to build a jail and set up county clerk, recorder, state's attorney, public defender and medical examiner offices, to name a few.

But Murphy argues the costs of forming what many are already calling Lincoln County would bring in services the Northwest suburbs currently lack.

"I totally disagree it'd be more expensive than what we pay now," said Murphy. "We send about $7 down to Cook County for every $2 we get back."

It's doubtful the bill would get a look-see during the November veto session. Most bills, Murphy said, won't move until February.

• Daily Herald staff writers Nadia Malik and Ashok Selvam contributed to this report.