CHAMPAIGN – Former Gov. Jim Edgar says Illinois' inability to pull together has cost the state dearly as it tries to dig itself out of a deep financial hole.

It's a problem Edgar says he wants to chip away at with his new Edgar Fellows initiative at the Institute for Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.

In August, a group of 40 younger politicians and other state officials and leaders will meet for a four-day training session and follow-ups on key issues. Along the way, Edgar hopes they'll learn more about what he calls the poorly understood history of the state and make connections they'll later draw on to reach across geographical and ideological lines.