Quinn to make Monday stops at Harper, Hoffman Estates

Gov. Pat Quinn is set to attend a brief public question-and-answer session at Harper College in Palatine Monday before heading to a fundraiser in his honor in Hoffman Estates.

At Harper, Quinn's expected to address the state budget, his proposed income-tax increase, the ethics-reform package aimed at rooting out political corruption and the proposal to allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees, said Harper spokesman Phil Burdick.

The 15-minute question-and-answer session is scheduled to start around 4:30 p.m. at the student center - Building A at the campus at Euclid Avenue and Roselle Road - and is open to the public.

Last month, the House approved a pilot program at Harper for four-year degrees, which, pending approval from the Senate and Quinn, could start next year. The ethics reform package comes in the wake of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's indictment and includes the firing of certain pension managers, as well as removal of the ex-governor's appointees to the state's pension systems.

There's also discussion of allowing state's attorneys the power to secretly audiotape political corruption suspects. Federal prosecutors already have that power.

The announcement of Quinn's proposed income tax hike came less than two months after he replaced his impeached predecessor. Backers say the tax increase would help cover a $11.5 billion budget deficit projected for 2010. It would be the state's first income tax increase since 1989.

After Harper, the governor will head to Hoffman Estates for a cocktail reception fundraiser hosted by Taxpayers for Quinn at the Stonegate Conference and Banquet Centre. Quinn is scheduled to appear around 5:30 p.m., Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod said.

McLeod and Quinn know each other from their time on the Citizens Utility Board, and McLeod even consulted with the Chicago Democrat, asking for Quinn's attorney's skills to look over election papers from a previous mayoral campaign.