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 After record highs in June, gas prices in Illinois
will again spike thanks to a decision from OPEC to tighten the oil supply.
After the average gas price declined for nearly 100 consecutive days, Molly Hart
from AAA said consumers can expect higher prices soon.
“It is about how much oil they are going to produce. With the OPEC decision, it
is too early to tell what the long-term consequences will be,” Hart told The
Center Square. “In the short term, though, we could see an uptick in gas prices.
The Illinois statewide average was $4.40 a gallon Oct. 11. Neighboring
Missouri’s gas was nearly $1 cheaper.
Gas in Illinois is particularly expensive because of the second-highest gas
taxes in the nation. Gov. J.B. Pritzker doubled the gas tax in 2019 from 19
cents to 38 cents, plus added automatic annual gas tax hikes. Automatic hikes
allow lawmakers to dodge the unpopular move of voting to raise taxes.
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Pritzker is airing campaign ads applauding himself for “relief” that delayed the
2022 gas tax increase until shortly after the election. But that means Illinois
drivers will face two tax hikes in 2023, estimated to take the tax up to 45.2
cents per gallon.
State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, said motorists would be better off if the
gas tax and additional fuel sales tax were suspended temporarily.
“The federal government is looking at pumping billions of dollars into
infrastructure projects around the country and I think we owe it to the working
families. We’re getting killed everywhere else, at the grocery store and you
name it. The prices are going up and I think this is one way to address that
issue,” Caulkins said.
OPEC’s decision will send prices up in every state, but Illinoisans face
additional pain at the pump from two gas tax hikes in 2023. Prices fluctuate
with supply and demand. But unless lawmakers act, Illinoisans will constantly be
stuck with some of the highest gas taxes in the nation.
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