We've talked a lot about candidates on the 2024 ballot, but voters in seven Illinois counties are voting this fall on whether they'd like to become their own state. 23 counties have already said, "yes." During this episode, Thom Serafin talks with G.H. Merritt, the Chairman of NEW Illinois. Merritt says this is not a divide between Democrats and Republicans. It is a movement that firmly states the needs of Chicago and Cook County are not in the best interests of the rest of the state.

New Illinois is focused on the constitutional right to have representative state government. What's the history of new state formation? What are the steps in the process? We'll dig into the answers to those questions and more, on this edition of the Crisis Cast.