Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants to roll back the 3-cent gas tax she got city leaders to impose. She wants to offer relief for city residents as some pay over $5 a gallon.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is considering a repeal of Chicago’s 8-cent-per-gallon gas tax to alleviate record-breaking prices. State gas taxes doubled in 2019 and state leaders are also considering a repeal.
House Bill 4424 would give every Illinois municipal government the power to impose a 3-cent per gallon tax on gas without first gaining the approval of local taxpayers at the polls.
Illinois has the second-highest gas taxes in the nation, but a new bill would let cities add a local gas tax on top of the state and federal taxes and fees. Illinois doubled its gasoline tax in 2019, part of $5.2 billion in new taxpayer costs since Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office.
Illinois drivers now pay the second-highest taxes on their gasoline in the nation, a new survey found. Before the state doubled the gas tax, Illinois ranked much lower.
When Illinois state lawmakers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker doubled the state gasoline tax in 2019, they built in automatic annual increases to avoid voting for future hikes. The tax increases another half cent on July 1.
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers doubled the gas tax in 2019, they built in automatic annual increases. The next boost hits July 1. Perfect timing, as Pritzker spends $6 million to ask Illinoisans to take a drive.
The Colonial Pipeline shutdown set off a gasoline price increase, but summer travel demand and pricier summer blends are likely to keep them there. Illinois averages $3.25 per gallon, AAA reports.
Gas was $3.05 per gallon in Illinois. It was over $1 higher than a year ago and the highest since the state gasoline tax doubled to 38 cents per gallon and is set to increase again July 1.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.