Illinois Gov. Quinn wants to auction No. 1 plate

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill., July 5 (UPI) -- The governor of Illinois said the No. 1 license plate, which has been out of circulation since 2002, may once again hit the state's roads.

Gov. Pat Quinn said the much-coveted plate, which historically belonged to a succession of Roman Catholic cardinals before it adorned the car of former Gov. Richard Ogilvie's widow, who gave up the plate in 2002, said he wants to have the plate auctioned to benefit military veterans, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday.

"The governor thinks this particular license plate could possibly be a new source of revenue for the veterans' assistance programs," Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said. "It could help homeless veterans. It could help treat veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress syndrome. It could help veterans without health insurance. We could look at creating a program that helps veterans get jobs."

It is unclear whether Illinois Secretary of State Jessie White would sign off on such a scheme.

"I think we'd want to look at it more before we could offer some insights into it," White spokesman Dave Druker said.