Gov. Pat Quinn is leaving Illinois on Monday to visit U.S. troops in Germany for the sixth time.
He'll fly into Frankfurt before traveling to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated. Quinn plans to dine with Illinois service members and hand out thousands of holiday cards made by schoolchildren across the state.
He will return the day after Christmas and will be back in Springfield a few days after Jan. 1. Awaiting him and lawmakers is the state's looming budget deficit, which could soon reach $15 billion without spending cuts or tax increases.
Quinn said he is ready to confront the budget problem head-on, and he has been meeting with lawmakers to build support for a package that still includes his long-sought income tax increase.
Quinn heads to Germany to spend holiday with troops