An educated workforce is key to attracting businesses to expand or relocate to Illinois. At Intersect Illinois, we pitch the state’s advantages every day, from our central location to our booming industries. But above all, we highlight our talent.
Illinois proudly leads the Midwest in residents with bachelor’s degrees: over three million strong. We also boast the nation’s third-largest community college system and 242 higher education institutions statewide, including internationally-recognized, world-class research universities. We’ve also made a concerted effort to help residents navigate career pathways, with 28 Early Career Centers and innovative workforce development and training programs. Yet, in today’s economy, we must do all we can to stay competitive.
As part of an effort to continue fueling Illinois’ economic development momentum, Gov. JB Pritzker is leading legislation that would allow community colleges in Illinois to offer bachelor’s degrees in fields with unmet workforce needs. Unlocking the potential of our community college system to significantly expand the talent pipeline, in particular for learners who need or want to get an education close to home, is more than education reform. It’s an economic strategy.
Data underscores the demand for highly educated workers in Illinois. In 2024, employers posted over 245,000 unique job listings that required a bachelor’s degree, significantly outpacing the 60,000 listings that required an associate degree. This disparity mirrors the feedback we receive from companies: when deciding where to invest, many prioritize locations with a strong pipeline of college graduates. Research from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Project for Middle Class Renewal shows that adults moving to Illinois are likely to have bachelor’s degrees or higher — a benefit to companies looking to hire. Even so, it’s important to recognize that degrees conferred to students from our higher education institutions must keep pace with job postings to prevent a talent pipeline gap and keep graduates here in Illinois.
Many states Illinois competes with every day for jobs and investment have already equipped themselves with an additional tool to meet this moment. In fact, there are 24 states that allow community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees, including Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Michigan — four of our key economic competitors.
Critics worry allowing community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees will pit community colleges and universities against each other, forcing them to compete over the same pool of students. However, evidence from Florida, home to one of the most extensive community college baccalaureate programs in the nation, proves otherwise.
Since community colleges began offering bachelor’s degrees in 2004, Florida’s public universities have not seen a decline in graduates. In fact, from 2003 to 2023, public universities increased bachelor’s degree awards by 76%, ultimately surpassing 73,000. Meanwhile, by 2023, Florida’s community colleges had awarded over 9,000 bachelor’s degrees. This demonstrates that expanding degree accessibility strengthens, rather than weakens, the overall pipeline of college graduates.
It’s clear that Illinois’ proposal isn’t about replacing universities, which will remain a vital part of the “Why Illinois” story. Rather, it’s about expanding opportunity — especially for students who are place-bound, working adults or from underserved communities.
As the former Chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and a community college attendee, it’s encouraging to see Illinois continue to take proactive steps to uplift our state and its people through the power of learning. Illinois benefits from a robust economy that offers diverse job opportunities, and we recognize and support all career paths. Nonetheless, a bachelor’s degree has been shown to increase economic mobility more than an associate degree, and Black and Latino students in Illinois disproportionately attend community college. For many of those students, an associate degree is the highest credential within reach. With the governor’s proposal in place, we would create even more opportunities and even more reasons to be in Illinois.
The market is already moving to address this gap. For-profit institutions in Illinois, with flexible schedules and virtual options, have more than tripled their number of bachelor’s degree completions in the past 20 years, largely in just a few practical fields: business, computer science and nursing. These bachelor’s degrees are similar to what community colleges are currently offering in other states, because they provide students with the practical skills employers want more of, and Illinois should also give our students a better public option.
Governor Pritzker’s push to authorize community colleges to offer workforce-oriented bachelor’s degrees would grow Illinois’ economy equitably and sustainably. It’s to the betterment of Illinois’ future that the state’s higher education leaders — from public universities and community colleges alike—are coming together to recognize the importance of giving students wider opportunities to pursue bachelor’s degrees, in accordance with IBHE’s "A Thriving Illinois" plan.
So let’s give our communities throughout Illinois the tools to compete. Let’s empower our workforce for the jobs of the future. And let’s make Illinois the destination of choice — not just for businesses, but for the talent they depend on.
John Atkinson is chairman of the board at Intersect Illinois, the statewide economic development organization headquartered in Chicago.
