From The Illinoize
Gas prices have spiked across Illinois, ranging from around $4.75 per gallon in southern Illinois to over $5.30 per gallon for regular unleaded in parts of the city of Chicago and suburbs.
There’s little state lawmakers can do to address the inflated wholesale prices, mostly caused by the conflict in Iran. But the state does impose a 48.3¢ per gallon tax on every gallon of gasoline (in addition to the 18.4¢ per gallon federal tax) and a 5% sales tax on top of it all.
Republicans are calling for relief from the tax burden while Democrats are weighing budget implications of reducing or eliminating either tax, even temporarily.
The nearly 50¢ per gallon gasoline tax is dedicated to the state’s road fund. It was 19¢ per gallon until it was doubled with passage of Gov. JB Pritzker’s capital program in 2019. Lawmakers added an automatic inflation adjustment into the bill, leading to automatic increases each year.
The gasoline sales tax was previously split between the road fund and the state’s General Revenue Fund, but the mass transit package passed by the General Assembly last year shifts the sales tax fully to funding Chicago-area and downstate mass transit systems.
Republicans are calling for a sales tax holiday.
“After JB Pritzker and Democrats raided downstate road funds for transit, downstate taxpayers deserve relief,” said Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria). “I filed HB 5738 to provide sales tax relief in way of a six-month temporary gas sales tax holiday from July 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026. This sales tax holiday is the right thing to do for both consumers and the state’s economy.”
When asked about reducing either tax to provide relief for consumers during the price spike, Democrats instead attacked President Donald Trump over the Iran conflict… read more