Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said that investing in higher education could lead to more talented workers staying in the state, at a round table held Monday designed to promote innovation and technology.
Over the last five years, 1,000 startup businesses have been founded on campuses across Illinois.
Pritzker said future success must start in the classroom.
“We’re supporting our state colleges and universities, which are launchpads for new companies and a highly talented workforce,” the governor said. “That is the biggest reason that companies want to come to the state, that companies want to grow jobs in the state. It’s the talent.”
Pritzker recently named Ron Guerrier as Illinois Chief Information Officer and Acting Secretary for the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT). Guerrier leads the state’s newest agency toward digitally transforming Illinois.
The governor declared Monday as Innovation and Technology Day in the State of Illinois.