In November's election, voters in Madison, Jersey, Calhoun and several other Illinois counties approved ballot measures that open the door to discussing formation of a new state.
They join a growing group of counties considering secession from Cook County.
Now Indiana wants to join those secession talks.
Republican Todd Huston, who is the House Speaker of neighboring Indiana, says his state might be interested in adding real estate.
"You need to figure out a way to make it continuous," said Huston on 'Total Information A.M.' "Obviously you are not going to hop and skip around. But if you look at the map, there is a continuous pathway almost from west to east."
Huston says his state has a lot in common with the downstate Illinois counties seeking change.
"Obviously, you have a strong agricultural and manufacturing component to these counties," said Huston. "And probably a lot of shared values."
"There's a lot of commonalities between these counties and so many of the counties in Indiana, including our western most counties."
Huston says there a process -- a complex one -- to change state borders, which includes the formation of a commission to iron out details.
Any final plan would have be approved by both state legislatures and also by Congress.
Huston says it would be easier to annex territory than create a whole new state.