By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Congressman Darin LaHood said that he’d love to see a trillion dollars in federal spending on roads, bridges, locks, and dams. But he also has significant doubt that it could happen.
The Peoria Republican said there’s certainly plenty of need for a federal infrastructure package. He pointed to the highways, bridges, and rivers in central and west-central Illinois as examples.
But LaHood said the chances that Congress and President Trump will be able to deliver a trillion dollar building plan are 50-50 at best because no one knows how to pay for it.
“There’s a lot of talk about public-private partnerships, and I am supportive of that,” LaHood said by phone on Wednesday. “I think that’s easier to do in urban areas, where you can get a return on your investment by having a toll road or a rapid transit system where people pay a fee. But it’s harder to do in rural areas and downstate.”
The other option, LaHood said, is to raise the federal gas tax. But that’s not going to be popular with drivers, or voters – or with him, for that matter.
“I’m concerned when you take more money from people and give it to the federal government,” LaHood said. “We’ve talked about the idea of a lock box. If people knew you were going to take a couple of extra cents from them to go toward infrastructure, they want to make sure it is in a true lock box. That it can’t be spent by anyone else in government.”
LaHood said that a number of Republican governors across the state have raised their gas taxes in the past few years, so there could be some Republican support to increase it nationally.
Illinois lawmakers talked about raising the gas tax last year, perhaps as a way to finance a state-based road construction package. However, that talk did not lead to a vote.
The existing federal gas tax costs drivers 18.4 cents a gallon. Illinois’ gas tax adds another 19 cents per gallon, plus a 3-cent per gallon use tax. Drivers in many parts of the state also pay local taxes on gasoline. To those taxes, Illinois charges a sales tax on gas. As a result, Illinois drivers are paying among the highest taxes on fuel in the entire country.
