By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

State Senator Jason Barickman spoke to a prospective buyer of the now-closed Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal, but that buyer said they’re not interested in moving to Illinois until the business climate improves.

Barickman said the investor said they couldn’t invest millions of dollars into the facility knowing what they know about Illinois’ governance and the cost it would take to do business in Illinois, rather than surrounding states, which have lower worker’s compensation rates.

Barickman called it a very frustrating and real message to hear.

He also added he believes Illinois will eventually make these reforms, but said he couldn’t predict when it would happen.