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 As Gov. J.B. Pritzker touts his temporary 1-cent gas tax relief
proposal for Illinoisans, new legislation could permanently raise local gas
taxes up to 3 cents per gallon.
The proposed legislation would allow municipal governments with fewer than 3
million residents to levy up to a 3-cent per gallon tax on gasoline for road
projects without first gaining the approval of local taxpayers at the polls.
This would give each of Illinois’ 1297 municipalities the individual power to
raise gas taxes on residents at will.
Proponents say the measure to sidestep taxpayer input into infrastructure
projects would not guarantee taxes go up at the pump. It would only give
politicians the power to do it without oversight from residents.
Under the current Illinois municipal code, municipalities with over 3 million
residents can raise local taxes without first gaining approval from a majority
of taxpayers through a public vote, a mechanism designed to circumvent costly
multimillion-dollar voter referendums.
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No municipality in Illinois has a population of
more than 3 million, including state’s largest city, Chicago, at
roughly 2.7 million residents. The measure would in turn give every
municipality this power.
Illinoisans already pay $105 more per driver a year
on gas taxes since Pritzker doubled the state gas tax from 19 cents
to 38 cents per gallon his first year in office. The tax hike came
with automatic annual increases that have boosted the state gas tax
to 39.2 cents.
Combined with federal taxes and state fees, Illinoisans now pay 78
cents in taxes per gallon – the second highest gas tax in the
nation.
Limiting taxpayers’ vote on how their money is spent only protects
politicians from taking responsibility for overpromising and the
unpopular tax hikes used to pay for it.
Pritzker thinks giving Illinoisans their money back after taking it
from them – and promising to take more later – is relief. Real
relief starts with repealing automatic gas tax hikes and preserving
those savings into the future.
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