By Rita Pearson, rpearson@qconline.com

Once dominated by manufacturing, the Quad-Cities and most areas of Illinois and the nation face significant economic changes -- a shrinking manufacturing base, growing low-wage service sector and demand for a skilled work force in critical sectors.

A panel of community leaders wrestled with these problems and offered some solutions Wednesday at a "State of Working Illinois: Challenges and Opportunities" forum at the Milan Community Center.

About 45 business leaders and educators attended the event hosted by the Workforce Development Board of Rock Island, Henry and Mercer counties, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, and the Illinois Works for the Future Campaign.

From 1990 to 2005, Illinois lost 24 percent of its manufacturing jobs, or 222,500 good-paying jobs and replaced them with lower-end service-sector jobs that pay 29 percent less, said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

The northwest region -- which includes Rock Island County and nine other counties -- lost 6,664 manufacturing jobs from 2001 to 2003, yet manufacturing jobs still make up 15 percent of the total employment in the region, he said.

Rock Island County is expected to see its greatest job growth in the services, including professional and business, education and health, leisure and hospitality, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Illinois is an affluent state with a $500 billion gross state product -- greater than Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Belgium and Sweden -- but its economic growth has lagged behind the rest of the Midwest and the nation, he said, adding that only Michigan has done as poorly.

By 2006 more than 40 percent of the Illinois work force did not have employer-provided health care, and about 27 percent of Illinois population was either on Medicaid or uninsured, he said. These trends could be reversed if good policies are enacted, Mr. Martire said.

Chuck Stewart, executive director of the Workforce Development Board in the three-county area, said he sees more collaboration among work force developers, business and educators, but there is a need for K-12 education to get on the same page.

Teacher and administrators are so focused on meeting No Child Left Behind standards that they're using up available resources at the expense of music and fine arts, vocational education, and career development, he said.

The federal government will cut $300 million in Illinois funding for vocational education so schools can focus on NCLB test scores, Mr. Martire said.

Tim Wells, a banker with Wells Fargo Bank, Geneseo, and chairman of the Workforce Development Board, said he sees a need for more cooperation between the public and private sectors. He also called for more efficiency in the public school system, even if that meant more consolidations among school districts.

Stephanie Acri, owner of Evans Manufacturing, said her company has grown from 32 to 45 employees, but has a high turnover rate. She found help from Black Hawk College and the Success Network agencies.

New hires now receive training and other low-cost or no-cost services to help stabilize the work force and maintain its competitiveness, she said.

Education and health care are top priorities in Illinois, but the state is cutting higher education and K-12 funding, Mr. Martire said. "We're having the wrong debate in Illinois. It's time to make state policy responsive to the communities based on the data."

Wednesday's regional forum was the third of 10 planned in the state, said Valerie Chepp of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

Rose Karasti of the Chicago Jobs Council invited local leaders to join a statewide campaign for an economic and work force development policy that works for everyone, especially the homeless, disabled, those in jail, and those in chronic poverty, she said.

The campaign calls for increasing the state's job training and economic development program budget to $10 million and an additional $5 million each in new appropriations and transitional jobs programs.

Highlights

"The State of Working Illinois" 2006

-In 2006, Illinois ranked fifth nationally with a gross state product of $500 billion.

-Illinois gross state product grew less than U.S. or Midwest States (1990-2004).

-Between 1990 and 2005, Illinois lost 24 percent of its manufacturing jobs, a loss of 222,500 jobs.

-All job growth in Illinois came in the service sector. Most pay 29 percent less than the manufacturing jobs they replace.

-Good-paying information sector jobs declined sharply after 2001.

-Private sector employer-provided health insurance coverage declined from 75 percent of the work force from 1979 to 1981 to 60.8 percent from 2001 to 2003. By 2006, more than 40 percent of the work force didn't have employer-provided insurance.

-The 10-county Northwest region of Illinois, which includes Rock Island, Henry and Mercer counties, lost 6,664 manufacturing jobs, or 19 percent, from 2001 to 2003. Manufacturing makes up 15 percent of the total employment in the region, higher than the state average of 12 percent.

-Through 2014, Rock Island County is expected to see its greatest job growth in services: professional and business, education and health, leisure and hospitality.

-Through 2012, only 23 percent of the new jobs projected for the region will pay more than the current state annual average wage of $38,139. This means more than 77 percent of the new jobs in the region will be lower paying -- likely driving down median income in the area.

Source: The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and Northern Illinois University, www.stateofworkingillinois.niu.edu