Chicago vehicle sticker price increase starts today

The Office of the City Clerk announced that the change in prices for annual vehicle stickers would follow Consumer Price Index changes.

Today marks the start of changes in pricing for vehicle stickers in the city of Chicago.

City Clerk Anna M. Valencia announced Jan. 31 through social media that price increases would start in accordance with reported Consumer Price Index changes and take effect Feb. 1.

Vehicle stickers are issued to motorists as a means of collecting Chicago’s Wheel Tax. Residents who drive or park cars in the city are required to purchase an annual city vehicle sticker. This applies also to residents who maintain their registration elsewhere but drive or park within Chicago city limits.

Effective Feb. 1, these are the sticker fee increases for each vehicle classification:

• Motorbikes – $46.49, up from $45.89
• Passenger vehicle – $87.82, up from $86.69
• Large passenger vehicle – $139.48, up from $137.69
• Small truck – $206.63, up from $203.98
• Large truck – $464.92, up from $458.95

“Revenue from the Chicago City Vehicle Sticker Sales Program funds the repair and maintenance of more than 4,000 miles of Chicago streets,” according to the Chicago Office of the City Clerk website.

Based on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget for 2018, the vehicle sticker price hike is projected to deliver the city $127.6 million in revenues. Last year, the 2018 budget acknowledged, vehicle sticker fee revenues fell short of projections.

Vehicle sticker fees are the largest source of revenue to the city’s vehicle tax fund.

Emanuel released his proposed budget Oct. 18, 2017. On Oct. 13, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers had seen a 2.2 percent uptick, in the 12-month period ending in September 2017. The gasoline index alone rose 13.1 percent in September, seasonally adjusted, accounting for three-quarters of the increase.

The majority of tax and fee increases in Chicago are not tied to the inflation rate, however.

As troubling fiscal reports continue to rain on the city, Chicago lawmakers should explore needed spending reforms and offer taxpayers relief – and bear in mind that tax and fee hikes could be the vehicle that drives Chicagoans to the next town over.