North Egypt News

Amanda Bean, Mt. Vernon Township supervisor, has a message for those pushing a plan to raise the state’s gas tax by up to 30 cents a gallon to fund infrastructure projects.

“Leave our products alone,” Bean told the North Egypt News. “The past governors should have adjusted Illinois income tax properly. They gave us a hike, but how many people actually noticed it in their paychecks? Not many, none of my staff could tell a difference that mattered to them. But they can sure tell a difference when the price of gas goes up.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently joined a group of suburban mayors in pushing the plan before the General Assembly. The added tax would make Illinois's motor fuel tax the highest in the country. 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel

The Chicago Tribune reports Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker has expressed openness to the idea as part of a larger capital-spending bill.

Emanuel argues there’s little time to waste in turning the proposal into law, but Bean would rather it never see the light of day.

“The Illinois population is already going down very quickly,” she added. “With less people in the state, you are putting more and more on their backs. I believe people that would have tried to stick it out with the high cost we already have to live in Illinois, this may be the tax that breaks the camel’s back.”

According to the Tax Foundation, current gas taxes in Illinois are the 10th highest in the country at 37.32 cents. At the proposed 67.32 cents per gallon, the state would easily surpass Pennsylvania’s current national high average of 58.7 cents per gallon.

As it is, the Washington Free Beacon reports, Illinois is one of just seven states to also impose a sales tax on gas purchases, joining California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan and New York. Overall, roughly one-third of what Illinois consumers pay at the pump is earmarked for taxes.

“Even though we have travelers that stop at our gas stations, I’m guessing 80 percent would come straight out of the pockets of your local residents,” Bean added of the motor fuel tax now being proposed. “If it’s not that high of a percentage yet, how long before it is? Wow, why not just hit them in the head with a baseball bat.”