The average Illinois driver will pay at least $100 more annually for gas under a new law, which went into effect on July 1, analysis by the Illinois Policy Institute reveals.
On June 28, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) signed into law a record tax hike that doubles the state’s gas tax and substantially raises vehicle registration fees. Illinois’ total gas tax burden is now the third-highest in the nation, the report finds.
Appearing at a press event announcing the signing, Pritzker defended the tax hike by claiming it will attract jobs and businesses, NPR Illinois reports:
“We’re putting a lot of people to work. We’re also attracting jobs from businesses that will want to be here because of the upgraded infrastructure that we’ll have all across the state of Illinois.”
Illinois drivers will now pay an additional 38 cents per gallon of gas, up from 19 cents. This is the first increase since the 19-cents-per-gallon tax was enacted in 1990. “Just in the first year, the gas tax will take $1.2 billion more from Illinois drivers, or an average of $100 more per driver,” the Illinois Policy Institute reports.
In addition to doubling the gas tax, the new law also imposes higher fees on nearly all vehicle registrations. For a standard vehicle registration, the fee increases from $95 to $150. Registrations for motor homes, and campers more than double, from $95 to a new total of $250.
The law also allows local jurisdictions, such as Chicago, to increase their own local gas taxes by three cents, while allowing McHenry and Kane counties to double theirs from four to eight cents. Along with those increases, the law allows two counties, Lake and Will, to impose a local gas tax up to eight cents per gallon of gas.
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