SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Gov. JB Pritzker is hitting the national stage for economic development. The Democrat spoke on a panel Monday morning during the SelectUSA Investment Summit in National Harbor, Maryland. 

Pritzker said this trip is a perfect opportunity to highlight the top reasons why foreign businesses should invest in Illinois. Michigan, Nevada, Virginia and Illinois are very different states, but their governors are all committed to promoting foreign direct investments.

Pritzker said Illinois is a global innovation hub with nearly 2,700 international companies representing over 80 countries and directly supporting over 550,000 jobs across the state.

"We are a state that brings workforce, energy and great sites," Pritzker said. "Just like Governor Youngkin, we invest in our sites to make sure that what you're looking for is available in the state of Illinois."

Pritzker said he is glad that the Illinois economy has recovered following the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to major investments in renewable energy, manufacturing and quantum technology. 

However, Pritzker noted that governors have stepped up to market their states without much help from leaders in the nation's capitol.

"Congress, they can talk all day and all night and fight with one another," Pritzker said. "We actually have to deliver for the people of our states. Republicans or Democrats, we have to deliver."

The governor said Illinois has a right to win investments because the state has attracted "enormously talented people" and educated them well.

"If you're looking for anybody from a PHD scientist all the way to a talented advanced manufacturing worker, we've got all of that with a second-best education system in the entire country and the billions of dollars of increased investments in our education systems."

Site Selection Magazine, an international industry-leading business publication, ranked Illinois as the top state in the Midwest for workforce development and the second best state for corporate investments and relocations in the country this year. 

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