Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The three-campus University of Illinois System, says its president, is good for business.

“The research that happens at our universities will help drive your businesses for years to come,” Tim Killeen (pictured) told a business audience in Springfield. “Everybody has got a cell phone. You’ve got stuff that was invented at the University of Illinois. The first or second Tesla roadster was colored orange and blue, because the transmission was invented at the U of I. So there are many ways that I can attest that your businesses will prosper, in part because of things which were brought into life at the university – and will help keep your employees.”

Killeen boasted of the university’s brainpower: the roughly 7000 faculty teaching our students and conducting their own groundbreaking research are also some of the country’s and the world’s leading experts in their fields. We had another novel prize winner alum this year, and it’s a staff of unparalleled knowledge and insight, keen on collaboration and driven by the desire to serve the public good.”

Killeen spoke to the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Illinois Retail Merchants Association joint conference in Springfield.