Chicago-area drivers could end up paying $1 billion more in tolls each year as part of a deal state lawmakers admitted was made to get labor union support.
By Patrick Andriesen and Ravi Mishra | Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois drivers face up to $1 billion more in tollway fees per year – money the tollways do not need – as part of a deal Springfield leaders admitted they made to get labor unions to back a Chicago-area mass transit bailout.
The Illinois Tollway board could vote as soon as Dec. 18. It would take an extra $329 per year from the typical driver.
Analysts estimated the 45-cent spike will drive the average passenger toll to $1.24, leading to $329 yearly increase for the typical commuter starting in 2027. Commercial truckers could also find themselves paying $1.73 more, or $1,264 a year.
Starting in 2029, tollway fees will automatically rise with inflation with a 4% cap per year applied every two years, regardless of the actual tollway needs. The automatic hikes make it hard for voters to hold lawmakers responsible for the hikes and will swell the tollway coffers.
That kind of automatic hike was applied to the state’s gas tax, leading to a $3.3 billion surplus and record-high taxes thanks to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Illinois’ gas tax were 19 cents before he doubled them and added the inflationary hikes, putting the tax at 48.3 cents per gallon currently.
The Illinois Tollway Authority was initially sold to voters as a temporary way to fund new highways: “Toll free in ’73.” That was intended to be 1973, but with the automatic hikes will likely still be going in 2073.
The tollway hikes were not needed but rather a gift to reward labor unions for supporting the Regional Transportation Authority bailout of Chicago area mass transit. Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch said the toll hike was the price Illinoisans had to pay for labor union support.
“It was important to them, if they were going to agree to give up almost $1 billion dollars a year from the road fund, that they can point to something that will help keep working people working and keep roads getting repaired,” Welch told the Chicago Sun-Times.
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