SPRINGFIELD - Since 2003, the governors of Midwestern states have trekked from Germany to Japan in hopes of jump-starting economic expansion and job growth back home.

By their own accounts, each of their trade missions has returned dividends.

In Indiana, Honda officials are building a new automobile plant. In Iowa, European wind farm manufacturers are mulling investments.

One governor, however, stands alone.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has not ventured outside the nation's borders in any official economic development capacity since taking office in 2003.

Last spring, it appeared as though that might change. During an event in Chicago with a delegation from India, it was reported that Blagojevich might travel to Mombai on a trade mission early next year.

The administration now says no such trip is in the works.

"We haven't planned any trade missions for the governor yet, as his focus has been on expanding health coverage and negotiating a capital and mass transit agreement," said Mica Matsoff, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

While Blagojevich has stayed at home, his gubernatorial brethren have been busy globetrotting.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has taken five trips out of the United States to Mexico, Italy, France and other European destinations.

In 2004, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher headed a delegation to Chile.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has visited China, Japan and Eastern Europe.

In September, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver went to Europe to attend renewable energy events in Germany, Denmark and Spain. He delivered speeches in front of representatives from 42 countries, including the American Wind Energy Association Panel and the Husum Wind Conference, the largest wind trade show in Europe.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has ventured from the Hoosier State to Japan, Europe, Asia and Taiwan.

Indiana officials say there are tangible results to Daniels' overseas visits.

According to a study by the Consulate General of Japan's Chicago office, Japanese companies employed more workers in Indiana than in any other Midwestern state in 2006.

The consulate's figures show that Indiana has 19 Japanese companies with 500 or more workers within its borders, compared to 15 in Illinois.

A crowning jewel of Daniels' overseas efforts came in 2006, when Honda announced it had chosen an Indiana site for a new automobile plant over sites in other states, including one in Illinois near Danville.

The announcement was made just after Daniels had returned from an 11-day trade mission to Asia.

Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said the Missouri governor's trips to Mexico have been to emphasize the importance of a plan to open a first-ever Mexican port in Kansas City. The facility would allow U.S. exported goods to be cleared through Kansas City instead of along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Blunt also has made trips to Europe to forge relationships that could benefit the state's aerospace industry.

"You have an opportunity to build relationships that will lead to growth in the long run," said Robinson. "Having the governor's support and physical presence was important to them."

Blagojevich is allowing officials at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to serve as his overseas stand-ins while he stays in Illinois, said Matsoff.

"During his first four and a half years, the governor has focused his own time and energy on dealing with some of the most pressing needs at home," she said in an e-mail exchange Friday.

Blagojevich's lack of overseas travel comes as a report last week noted that the rate of economic growth in Illinois has slowed considerably in the past six months.

According to the University of Illinois Flash Index, a monthly barometer of the state's economic health, October was the fourth consecutive month of decline.

Despite that, administration officials say Illinois is the fifth largest exporting state in the nation.

And, they note, Illinois does have a presence in 10 foreign countries, with trade offices in Brussels, New Delhi, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Warsaw, Toronto, Johannesburg, Shanghai and Jerusalem.

Except for the New Delhi office, which opened last year, the groundwork for the trade offices was laid by his predecessors.

In 1999, for example, former Gov. George Ryan led a 45-member delegation to Cuba that included officials from Decatur-based Archer Daniels Midland Co. and the Moline-based John Deere Foundation.

Ryan also went to South Africa, where he opened the Johannesburg trade office and visited the jail in which Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

Former Gov. Jim Edgar waited until his fifth year in office to venture outside the nation's borders. In his second term, he took a 10-day trip to the Middle East in search of economic development.

Former Gov. Jim Thompson took numerous trips abroad, including four voyages to Tokyo. Those trips to Japan were credited with helping lure Mitsubishi Motor Corp. to enter into a joint venture to build cars at a plant in Normal.

Though Blagojevich didn't take any trips in his first term and still hasn't planned any as the first year of his second term comes to an end, Matsoff said the governor isn't ruling out future trips.

"The governor has said, generally, that he'd like to do some trade missions this term, including to India (because) of its huge potential as a partner," Matsoff said in an e-mail exchange.

Following is a sampling of some of the countries visited by Midwestern governors on trade missions:

- Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Illinois: None since taking office in 2003.

- Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana: Japan, China, Taiwan, Germany, South Korea

- Gov. Chet Culver, Iowa: Germany, Denmark, Spain

- Gov. Matt Blunt, Missouri: Mexico, Italy

- Gov. Jim Doyle, Wisconsin: China, Japan, Mexico, Czech Republic, Poland

- Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Kentucky: Chile, China, Japan

Kurt Erickson can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or 789-0865.