GODFREY, Ill. –  Governor JB Pritzker addressed a gathered crowd at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois, about losing talent in the Land of Lincoln. 

“They are 70% likely to stay in that state,” Pritzker said. “People who are high school graduates and want to go to a four-year school, 70% likely that when they get to whatever that university is outside of Illinois, they are not coming back. That’s a real problem and we want to keep our best and brightest in state.”

The governor is announcing a new initiative and legislation to make it easier for select community colleges, like Lewis and Clark, to offer bachelor degrees in fields like health care, manufacturing, cyber security and early childhood education.

All fields in the St. Louis region are in need of employees. 

“I know I personally drive 20 minutes to class and if I thought (if) you needed us almost an hour drive from my house or to go to SIUE,” said Melissa McKaig, Lewis & Clark student trustee. 

Both McKaig and Niota Kobialka are nursing students in the nursing program at Lewis and Clark and are supportive of the plan that meets students where they are. 

“I don’t live as far as some of my classmates,” Kobialka said. “I only live a couple of minutes away in town.  But it was going to make a big difference if I have to go to another college for the rest of my degree.”

Lewis and Clark administrators say nearby Alton Memorial Hospital and OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center are two examples of local employers in need of trained workers with bachelor’s degrees.