Illinois drivers face some of nation’s highest costs, expected to grow

Fears have grown that more efficient cars mean less money for Illinois to fund roads. But the state already collects higher revenues than ever while burdening drivers with high taxes and fees.

Illinois is collecting more money from gas taxes and driving fees than ever, but concerns are growing about electric cars and fuel efficiency limiting funds for roads and bridges.

Illinois has an efficiency problem rather than a funding problem – and it’s not fuel efficiency that’s the problem. According to the latest report from the Reason Foundation, Illinois ranked 45th in the nation in capital and bridge disbursements, which are the costs of building new roads and bridges and widening existing ones. This ranking shows inefficiencies in how the state allocates funds as it spends $98,000 per lane-mile while it’s expected to spend $68,000 based on factors such as urbanization.

Burdening drivers to cover costs for ballooning inefficient budgets is nothing new for Illinois. Below is an overview of fees and taxes Illinoisans face for owning and operating a vehicle.

Gas taxes

In 2019, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker doubled the per-gallon gas tax from 19 cents to 38 cents. Since then, it has grown to 47 cents per gallon. Illinois is also one of the few states to apply sales taxes to gas after the motor fuel tax is charged, essentially taxing drivers on the taxes they are paying.

As a result, Illinois drivers pay the second-highest combined state, federal and local gas taxes in the country, only behind California. About 85 cents of every gallon of gas goes to these taxes, nearly double what some of Illinois’ Midwest neighbors, such as Missouri, charge.  The average Illinois driver pays $323 annually in state gas taxes alone.

Fees

The state has the second-highest car registration fee in the country at $151 annually, only behind North Dakota. It also imposes the nation’s highest title fee at $165. An Illinois driver must pay a total of $316 to register a vehicle and obtain a new title. Electric vehicle drivers face additional fees, with an extra $100 charge for yearly registration, bringing the total to $416.

Other fees include a $30 driver’s license fee and a vehicle sticker fee of at least $100.17 annually for Chicago residents.

Chicago residents are subject to some of the highest parking fees and fines in the country. Average monthly parking in the city costs $143, placing it among the Top 10, most-expensive U.S. cities. Violation penalties include fines such as $100 for parking in a vacant lot, $250 for parking in a bicycle lane and $200 for not having a city sticker.

Red light and speed cameras

Illinois is one of 23 states with red-light cameras. Local governments in Illinois have collected over $1.56 billion from 527 red-light cameras statewide from 2008 to 2023.

Chicago drivers must also contend with speed cameras, which collected nearly 1.2 million  tickets during the first nine months of 2024. These cameras impose a fine of $35 on anyone going 6-10 miles above the limit or $100 on anyone going 11 or more miles above the limit.

Tolls

Illinois maintains a robust network of toll roads throughout the state. The Illinois Tollway was expected to collect $1.64 billion in 2024. There are 14 states with no tolls, including  Midwestern states such as Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas.

Conclusion

Illinois is projected to spend $27 billion on roads and bridges during a six-year span that started in fiscal year 2024. The Illinois Department of Transportation is spending over $4.5 billion in fiscal year 2025 – $1.5 billion more than in Pritzker’s first term.

Before making changes to collect more fees from drivers, state lawmakers should focus on improving the efficiency of highway and road system spending.