Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Andy McKenna shared his ideas on Monday about how to create more jobs in Illinois.

McKenna spoke informally to the handful of students who attended, all of whom were members of NIU’s College Republicans.

“I’m really worried about where we’re going job-wise in Illinois,” McKenna said. He said his motto is, “Export American goods, not American jobs.” McKenna also expressed his concern for college students’ ability to find jobs after graduation.

He spoke about his three-part plan of innovation, infrastructure and access to quality health care. He elaborated on the three parts and talked about giving business owners tax credit to invest money to create new jobs, while working to maintain resources and his desire to change the health care situation in Illinois.

“We are losing doctors in Illinois,” McKenna said.

He said he would like to change the health care situation so doctors stay because health care is important and the industry is a huge job provider in Illinois.

McKenna said two things set his campaign apart from the others.

“I think it’s important to have high ethical standards,” he said. McKenna, who is president of Schwarz Paper Company in Morton Grove, stressed his decision not to co-mingle his business with his campaign.

McKenna said another reason his campaign is different is because he has a vision of how Illinois can move forward. He said people’s desire to have a better life for themselves and their families is what drives the economy and that new jobs must be created to provide more opportunities for people.

“We have to embrace leadership that speaks to who we are,” he said.

McKenna also spoke about his ideas regarding higher education. He said he would like to bring more research dollars to Illinois universities. He said ideas from research turn into businesses, which create more jobs.

Additionally, McKenna said he’d like to provide additional help to people going to college so it can be affordable.

“We have to make sure [a higher education] is accessible and available to American students,” he said.

Eric Johnson, a junior political science major and chairman of the College Republicans, said he liked McKenna’s ideas.

“I think he’s one of the better candidates,” he said. “Illinois definitely needs to do something to get jobs back here.”

Johnson also said that McKenna came across as very genuine.

“It says a lot that he came when we told him there would probably only be a handful of people here,” he said. “I was happy to see he was taking time to come to campus.”