Quinn visited a Springfield middle school Thursday to talk about the tax increase. He says that without the additional tax money, education spending will have to be cut by $1.3 billion.

The Democratic governor called on lawmakers to promptly pass the increase so the state doesn't go backward when it comes to education.

Quinn wants to raise tax rates by one percentage point. That would increase individual tax bills by one-third and generate about $2.8 billion for the state.

Republicans generally oppose an increase and many Democrats are reluctant to raise taxes in an election year.

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