SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois could soon join most other states in having a uniform speed limit for cars and trucks on its highways.

Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to formally endorse legislation that boosts the speed limit for semitrailer trucks to 65 miles per hour on rural interstates, the bill's Senate sponsor said Friday.

Currently, the legal limit for big rigs is set at 55 mph. Supporters of the change say it is safer for cars and trucks to travel at the same speed.

"This is a bill whose time has come," said state Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, who sponsored the measure in the House.

The change goes into effect Jan. 1.

The looming approval of the measure is another example of how Quinn differs from his former running mate.

Three times, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed legislation to boost the speed limit for trucks, saying it is unsafe to allow them to go faster.

State Sen. John Sullivan, a Rushville Democrat who pushed the legislation through the Senate, said the change will improve traffic flow on rural highways.

"Obviously, we've been working on this for a lot of years," Sullivan said. "Varying speed limits often tempt motorist into the unsafe habit of passing semi-trucks. This new law will help curve this dangerous practice and help reduce the risk of accidents."

The Illinois Department of Transportation lobbied against the higher limit for trucks.

"Statistics have shown that the higher speed would provide for more accidents and more severe accidents," said IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig. "Part of our mandate is to promote highway safety."

When he was a lawmaker, however, Hannig supported the higher speed limit.

"As a downstate legislator, representing a rural district, there is a view that we ought to be able to go faster on the highways," said Hannig, D-Litchfield. "But as secretary of transportation, looking at the entire state of Illinois , it becomes a more difficult situation for us."

Under the law, truckers traveling in the Chicago area will still have to operate at the 55 mph level.

The legislation is House Bill 3956.