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Current projections on the shortage make for a grim prognosis across the country. A recent report by the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council estimates the Chicago area alone has 2,500 fewer nurses than it needs. The shortage is expected to grow to 21,000 nurses statewide, or 19 percent of projected demand, by 2020.

Lack of teachers targeted

A big part of Blagojevich's proposal is aimed at attracting and retaining nursing school teachers, who are in short supply largely because these advanced-degree nurses can make more money outside the classroom. Too few teachers are a large reason why more than 1,100 qualified applicants were turned away from Illinois nursing programs, according to the governor's office.

Blagojevich wants to make available this coming fiscal year $1.5 million in grants that schools could use to graduate more nurses by adding teachers, for example. An additional $150,000 would be set aside to supplement the salaries of 15 nursing educators.

The governor also backs new legislation being introduced today that would change the way nursing scholarships are awarded. The decision would be based on merit, not just financial need, in hopes of picking candidates most likely to finish nursing school. The bill also calls for the creation of a Center for Nursing that would come up with recruitment strategies and improve working conditions .

Opponent questions strategy

A Blagojevich spokeswoman said there's money in the state's budget to pay for the plan, which carries a price tag of about $3 million to $5 million a year, or a total of nearly $50 million through 2020.

Blagojevich's Democratic challenger, Edwin Eisendrath, said he wants to know "what will be cut in order to pay for this, because there's only so much money."

Eisendrath also questioned whether Blagojevich's prescription to ease the nursing shortage was the right one.

He said the problem isn't a lack of licensed nurses as much as an inability to keep them.

"It's a grueling job," he said. "A better long-term solution would be to address the issues of people quitting so the retention rate goes up."

Illinois Nurses Association director Tom Renkes called the governor's plan "a good start," and "now everybody else has got to pick up the ball."

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