Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order last week creating a new working group charged with evaluating the state’s workforce development needs and setting fresh postsecondary education attainment goals through 2040—a move that comes as the state falls short of targets it set nearly two decades ago.
Executive Order 2026-03, signed March 13, establishes the Illinois State Attainment Working Group, which will assess what degrees, certificates, workforce credentials, and support systems Illinois residents will need to meet future labor demands. The group is expected to deliver its recommendations to the governor by Dec. 1, 2026.
The order arrives in the wake of recent reports showing the state narrowly missed a benchmark set in 2009 by the Illinois P-20 Council, which called for 60% of the state’s adult population to hold a high-quality postsecondary credential by 2025. According to a biennial report released last October by the nonpartisan group Advance Illinois, only about 57.4% of adults had completed a degree or credential program as of 2023—a significant improvement from 41% in 2008, but still short of the goal.
Pritzker’s order points to workforce projections suggesting the stakes will only grow. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce estimates that within five years, more than 70% of jobs will require some form of education or training beyond high school.
“Companies from across the globe choose to do business in Illinois because of our strong workforce,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Looking ahead, we must ensure our workforce has access to programs, training, and education that continue to prepare them for the jobs of the future.”
Equity concerns are also central to the initiative. A pair of reports last year from the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative found that even after earning degrees, graduates from lower-income backgrounds tend to earn less than peers from wealthier families—even in comparable fields. A follow-up report found that non-degree career pathways leading to good-paying jobs were often accessible only to men or specific racial and ethnic groups.
The working group will include representatives from several state agencies, among them the Board of Higher Education, the Community College Board, the State Board of Education, the Department of Employment Security, and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Advisory members will come from the departments of Human Services, Corrections, and Public Health, as well as the office of First Lady M.K. Pritzker.
Ginger Ostro, Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said the effort aligns with the state’s existing higher education strategic plan. “Reaching a thriving and inclusive economy for all people of Illinois requires that we remove barriers to a higher education and well-paying jobs, especially for economically disadvantaged communities,” Ostro said.
The working group will commission an external economic and labor market analysis projecting Illinois’ workforce needs through 2040, and will conduct regional meetings, focus groups, and interviews with stakeholders ranging from employers and labor unions to community organizations and students.
The announcement builds on what the Pritzker administration describes as a record of investment in higher education. Illinois public universities reached their highest enrollment in a decade in 2025, and the state’s community college system—the third largest in the country—has posted four consecutive years of enrollment growth. The administration also notes that 44% of in-state undergraduate students at public universities are now paying no tuition or fees, up from 24% in 2018.
Illinois was recently ranked first in the Midwest for workforce development and second in the nation for corporate expansion for the fourth straight year by Site Selection Magazine.
