Illinois No. 2 in nation for highest gas taxes

Only California has higher gasoline taxes than Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s automatic gas tax boost just bumped the rate to 47 cents per gallon. It was 19 cents before Pritzker took office.

Illinois motorists face the second-highest gas taxes in the country, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

With a total of 85.5 cents per gallon, Illinois trails only California in combined federal and state gas taxes. This high tax burden especially hits middle- and lower-income families who spend a larger portion of their budget on fuel costs.

The state portion of the tax was 19 cents per gallon before Gov. J.B. Pritzker doubled it in 2019 and added an automatic, annual inflationary adjustment that lets state lawmakers escape voting on the unpopular tax hikes. The tax grew to 47 cents on July 1.

Illinois motorists can expect to pay approximately $328 a year in state gas taxes alone based on American Petroleum Institute gas usage estimates.

The complex structure of Illinois’ gas taxes includes multiple components: the state motor fuel excise tax, a prepaid sales tax, and various fees. This is further compounded by federal taxes and additional local taxes in some areas. For instance, Cook County residents face an extra motor fuel tax and sales tax.

Illinois is one of the few states that applies a sales tax to gasoline after the motor fuel tax, effectively taxing drivers on the taxes they already pay for gas.

Some Illinois drivers opt to fill up out of state or at least outside of Chicago and Cook County. But for many, Illinois gas taxes remain a regressive way for state leaders to take money from struggling families needing to get to work or to transport children, often with older vehicles that are less fuel efficient.

State leaders could at least take responsibility for gas tax hikes by voting on them. Putting tax hikes on autopilot is cowardly and takes away voters’ voices.