I read that article earlier today. Incredible, yet so true. Especially regarding the Missouri side. There is no cohesion or regional unity, only a drive to cannibalize and engage in "civil war" with every other little "city."
I see your point regarding the Illinois side. The problem isn't as pronounced over here, but we could benefit greatly by merging with nearby municipalities / townships. Like we've said, the area could single-handedly control the county if it merged. By my calculus, there are at least 60,000 people in the Granite City vicinity, far more than any other single place in MadCo.
But like everyone else, we also suffer from StL's division. The city is terrible, the region is backwards. Our transportation networks are crumbling or non-existent (no metro rail or StL subway, interstate bottlenecks, lack or bridges / tunnels), our core city (StL) is decayed, and segregation / crime are both very high. But, what should we expect from an ass-backwards state like Missouri? In the past few decades we've watched St. Louis collapse, while our own Chicago has begun to comparatively flourish once again. Perhaps it is because in MO, there is a huge disconnect between StL...and everyone else.