Some Downstate Republicans want immediate action to undo the gas tax increase

Posted on June 9, 2022
State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia). (WJBC file photo)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Outrage over gas prices made for rich Republican fodder at a campaign announcement starring State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia).

The senator, one of six Republicans who want to be governor, wants the legislature back in Springfield to do something about the gas tax. The state’s share had been 19 cents for almost thirty years, then doubled and indexed to inflation.

“(Gov. JB) Pritzker had a chance to do what’s right, and remove or suspend this tax. But instead, he failed,” said Bailey at an Effingham gas station which charges $5.19 a gallon. “Instead, billionaire JB decided to merely freeze the increase and throw a couple of pennies at struggling families here in Illinois.

“That’s a disgrace. That’s unacceptable.”

That’s only part of the problem. If Illinois eliminated its share of the tax, gas would still approach, if not exceed, five dollars a gallon. And Bailey’s news conference did not specify a substitute funding source to build, maintain, and repair roads.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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