The following guest editorial that I wrote was published in the Daily Herald on Monday, June 15:
Governor JB Pritzker wants Illinois taxpayers to applaud his decision to pause a scheduled 1.3-cent increase in the state’s motor fuel tax. His administration is portraying the move as meaningful relief for families struggling with high gasoline prices.
I would urge the taxpayers of Illinois not to fall for the shell game.
At a time when Illinois families are paying some of the highest gas prices in the nation, the Governor is asking taxpayers to celebrate keeping an extra penny in their pockets while quietly taking far more from them through Illinois’ sales tax on gasoline.
Unlike most states, Illinois applies a sales tax to gasoline. The state collects 6.25 percent of the purchase price. That means the more expensive gas becomes, the more money Springfield collects.
The Governor has repeatedly blamed rising gas prices on the Trump Administration and federal policies. Whether you agree with that assessment or not, one fact is undeniable: if gas prices go up, state government profits.
Consider a simple example. If gasoline costs $5 per gallon, Illinois collects more than 31 cents per gallon from the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax alone. Yet the Governor wants taxpayers to focus on a 1.3-cent motor fuel tax increase that is being delayed.
In practical terms, that’s like putting 1.3 cents into one pocket while taking 31 cents out of the other.
The Governor is hoping taxpayers notice only the hand that is giving.
Republicans have consistently argued that if Springfield is serious about providing relief, lawmakers should reduce or suspend the state’s sales tax on gasoline when prices spike. That would provide meaningful help because it targets the tax that automatically grows as prices rise. In fact, we filed legislation in response to the spike in gas prices (Senate Bill 4205) that would reduce the sales tax on motor fuel sales from 6.25% to 1.25% from July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026. The bill was blocked and denied a hearing and vote.
Meanwhile, the administration continues to collect the windfall in gas sales tax collections.
The recently approved state budget reveals just how dependent Springfield has become on these revenues. During budget negotiations, the Governor referred to excess money in the transportation-related fund that receives gas sales tax revenues as “surplus.” His solution was not to return those dollars to taxpayers. Instead, the budget swept approximately $150 million from that fund and redirected it to support higher spending elsewhere in the state budget.
Think about what that means.
Illinois families are told that state government is doing them a favor by pausing a 1.3-cent tax increase. At the same time, Springfield is collecting hundreds of millions of dollars generated by high fuel prices and using those dollars to support unrelated spending priorities.
That is not tax relief. That is not reform. That is a shell game and a political PR move.
The reality is that Illinois motorists already shoulder one of the heaviest gasoline tax burdens in America. Every trip to work, every trip to the grocery store, every youth sporting event and family vacation comes with a growing tax bill that rises alongside fuel prices.
State government should not view higher gas prices as a revenue opportunity.
If the Governor truly believes Illinois families are struggling with fuel costs, he should support meaningful relief by reducing or suspending the state’s sales tax on gasoline during periods of elevated prices. He should stop treating taxpayers as a convenient source of surplus revenue whenever prices at the pump increase.
Illinoisans are smart enough to recognize the difference between genuine tax relief and a public relations campaign. Keeping 1.3 cents while taking more than 31 cents is not a tax cut, and I would urge taxpayers to judge this policy not by the penny Springfield chose not to take, but by the surplus dollars it continues to keep.