Unfortunately for Illinois and especially for families in the State Line Area, residents will soon be forced to shoulder a drastic toll tax hike after Governor Pritzker and his far-left allies pushed through the South Beloit toll tax.
Back in the spring of last year, I warned that Chicago Democrats would eventually look for a bailout to prop up their failing transit system. Instead of fixing years of mismanagement, they chose the easiest option: make downstate and suburban Illinois pay the price.
So how did they “solve” Chicago’s transit crisis? They pinned it on us here in the 45th District.
Here’s how this so-called transit fix will hurt our communities:
- Approximately $550 million per year will be redirected away from local roads, bridges, and transportation projects in rural and suburban Illinois and sent straight to Chicago.
- $80 million will be diverted directly from the State Road Fund to support Chicago’s transit system.
- A 45-cent toll increase per vehicle will raise costs for commuters statewide, disproportionately impacting districts like ours that rely on longer tollway stretches.
Once again, Governor JB Pritzker’s tax-hungry administration is gorging itself on your hard-earned dollars, devouring funds meant for local roads and bridges while clawing even more out of drivers’ pockets at the tolls.
I voted no on the South Beloit toll tax. Illinois families deserve accountability, not another bailout for Chicago politicians who refuse to fix their own problems. It’s time to call out this governor for overtaxing our communities and siphoning money away from the districts that keep this state moving.
