By Cynthia Grau

PONTIAC – U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger wants better efforts to keep jobs in Illinois.

The Republican congressman visited Forrest and Pontiac on Wednesday. Kinzinger said while they’ve had a busy time in the national capital lately, he wanted to visit Livingston County, which he said is doing great compared to a lot of areas.

“You see, for instance, tourism in Pontiac really exploding in a good way. That’s a good thing,” Kinzinger said. “We always could be doing better. So the key is to try to figure out … I think a lot of an issue is skills gap, in terms of jobs that are available versus what people are trained for. One of the roles of the Federal government is to see trends of the future and to highlight those trends.”

Kinzinger said part of the blame for stagnant job growth rests in Springfield, saying that jobs are leaving Illinois because of state policies.

“Look, everybody is struggling and it’s something we need to get a better handle on,” Kinzinger said. “You know, we’re not just losing jobs to India – we’re losing them to Indiana, and it’s not because the weather is nicer or there are more mountains over there.”

Cynthia Grau can be reached at [email protected].