Governor Pat Quinn is on his way to Mexico Wednesday. Quinn says the focus of his trip is on improving trade between Mexico and Illinois.
"The way I see it, the governor of Illinois, that's my job, we've got to be exporters in chief for the companies of Illinois, large and small,” says Quinn.
He says he'll be meeting with Mexico's secretary of agriculture, two state governors and the mayor of Mexico City. Quinn's trip also comes as Latinos are playing an increasingly important role in Illinois politics.
"We have many, many people from Mexico who have come to Illinois," Quinn says.
Indeed, the Pew Research Center says 70 percent of Illinois' eligible Latino voters are of Mexican origin. This is not Quinn's first foreign business venture, he's already been to China, Japan and Brazil. The governor says he's paying for the trip using money from campaign donors.