Gubernatorial candidate Rod Blagojevich emphasized his commitment to economic development in southern Illinois during a March 8 campaign stop in Coles County.

The congressman from Chicago’s north side told a crowd of more than 60 gathered at the Laborers’ International Union Local 171 hall in Mattoon that he is committed to Illinois’ working class. That commitment includes fostering economic development in the southern portion of the state.

“I say with real leadership we can (bring jobs to southern Illinois),” said Blagojevich, one of three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in Tuesday’s primary.

Paul Vallas, former chief of the Chicago public school system, and Roland Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, are also running in the Democratic primary.

Blagojevich spoke with disappointment, telling the crowd that only 1 percent of new economic development currently takes place outside of Chicagoland.

“How do we get leaders that are going to bring money to places like Mattoon?,” he asked. “The only thing lacking is the leadership and will to get it done.”

If elected, Blagojevich said he would use the governor’s office to create new jobs outside of the northern portion of the state by forming a $200 million Illinois Opportunity Fund focused on using private investment to bring new businesses to struggling areas across the state.

Part of Blagojevich’s plan to boost the state’s bottom line includes tapping more into Illinois’ natural resources. The candidate said the events of Sept. 11 showed him the United States must decrease its dependence on foreign oil. He said it is our “patriotic duty to use Illinois coal.”

While Blagojevich stressed his commitment to labor while addressing the crowd, he emphasized his commitment to education, specifically teacher education, in an interview after the speech.

“Universities like Eastern Illinois University are vital, not only to the development of young minds in our state but also to our economy,” the Northwestern graduate said. “Higher education is very important and what’s critical is that the University Professionals (of Illinois) get treated fairly and (are) recognized for their great contributions to our state.”

The congressman also stressed the importance of helping teacher education schools.

“If I’m governor, schools like Eastern Illinois University will never have it better. We’re going to fuel more resources into universities that develop teachers,” he said. “Universities like Eastern Illinois are vital in the effort to retain teachers and train teachers and we need to commit resources there.”

The son of a working-class family from Chicago, Blagojevich told the crowd it is the governor’s responsibility to strive toward solving the state’s common problems and challenges, including improving the wages and benefits of working people.

Blagojevich said he would get up every single day and fight for the people if elected governor. He said he would strive to improve education and health care for seniors while balancing a tight state budget.

“I believe it’s wrong to balance the budget on the backs of working people,” Blagojevich said, condemning some of the budgetary methods he said candidate Vallas used while running Chicago’s public schools.

Blagojevich said Vallas privatized part of the school system’s janitorial services, which cost some employees jobs, while others faced a reduction in wages.

Making prescription drugs available to seniors was another issue Blagojevich raised during his stop in Mattoon. He said he has plans for a program that would offer aid to seniors who spend more than 10 percent of their income on prescription drugs.

The congressman said the state has a responsibility to care for seniors and ensure that they don’t have to choose between food and prescription drugs, something Illinois has not done in the past.

Blagojevich said previous Illinois prescription drug plans for seniors have been nothing more than “empty promises and half measures that aren’t the real deal.”