Besides getting its fiscal house in order, Illinois needs to enact better workers’ compensation reform, reform its state tax code and extend some critical tax incentives, Baise said.

He also suggests to overhaul property taxes and stop shifting the tax burden to commercial industrial taxpayers. Strengthening education and workforce development are other key components, he said.

“Illinois must rebuild and support its manufacturing base in order to fully prosper,” Baise said. “It was once the backbone of our economy and because of policy failures, we’ve let that firm foundation crumble around us. Innovation, growth, new products, new jobs, revitalized communities, and more importantly a thriving middle class, are all possible again,” he said.

“It isn’t all gloom and doom. It can be done; other states our doing with less of the natural advantages we hold here in Illinois.”