* The Daily Herald…
A massive rate increase in 2027 with additional hikes every two years sailed through the Illinois tollway board of directors Wednesday.
The initial proposal raises I-PASS passenger vehicle tolls from an average of 7 cents to 11 cents a mile, or 57%, and truckers would see a 30% jump.
That will be followed by inflation-related increases every two years tied to the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers. The CPI will be capped at 8% every two years, with a maximum CPI of 4% every year, officials said.
The proposed increase is part of the tollway’s 15-year, $26.5 billion Driving Connections capital program, which officials promise will reduce congestion, improve mobility and create jobs.
* Sun-Times…
The hike, the first since 2012, was made possible by the state’s new transit funding law, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed last year. The Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act raised some Chicago-area taxes to pump an extra $1.5 billion a year to state public transit, including the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace.
The transit law also redirected some of the sales tax on motor fuel from the state’s Road Fund, typically used for road construction projects, to public transit. As a concession to labor groups, lawmakers granted the Tollway permission to raise tolls to make up for that lost cash.
Even with the proposed toll rate increases, the toll rates for passenger vehicles will remain among the lowest in the nation, the tollway’s chief financial officer, Cathy Williams, told the board. After the hike, a passenger vehicle with an I-Pass will pay an average of 11 cents per mile, below the national average of 16 cents per mile, she said. […]
The new funds will help finance everything from additional lanes, to reconstructed interchanges, to upgrading fiber optic cable, which the agency says it earns money from by selling access to utility companies.
* American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois…
“The Tollway is a critical part of Illinois’ surface transportation network because it connects workers to jobs, businesses to customers, freight to markets and Illinois communities to the national economy. A system this important requires sustained investment to replace aging infrastructure, modernize interchanges, improve safety, reduce congestion and prepare for future demands,” said Kevin Artl, President and CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois. “We applaud the visionary approach of the Tollway’s leadership and board and thank Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly who made this investment possible. We strongly support the Driving Connections capital plan—a proposed 15-year, $26.5 billion investment in northeastern Illinois and the broader regional economy. Driving Connections represents the kind of responsible, long-term planning Illinois needs and our member firms look forward to continuing our partnership with the Tollway to deliver a safer, stronger and more resilient transportation system.”
- H-W - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 12:04 pm:
=== The transit law also redirected some of the sales tax on motor fuel from the state’s Road Fund, typically used for road construction projects, to public transit. ===
I can hear my Republican neighbors now. This is the only sentence they will read, and to which they will respond, “Secession! We should not support our fellow Illinoisans!”
The ballot initiative hits McDonough County this November. It now seems my neighbors realize this is not possible but they want to go on record as having called for secession.
- Roadrager - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 12:06 pm:
Preempting the usual howls of price gouging, government waste, and “they should run it like a business”:
- This raises the average Tollway user fee to 11¢/mile. Driving the privately-operated Chicago Skyway currently runs $1.05/mile, with guaranteed rate increases coming each and every January 1st until long after you, I, and everyone else on this website are worm food.
- The Indiana Toll Road has already been run like a business - straight into bankruptcy - once.
- Gas could go up to twelve bucks a gallon and the dedicated fuel tax revenues would still fall well short of covering the state’s road infrastructure needs.
- Google is Your Friend - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 1:22 pm:
There’s nothing “visionary” about adding lanes, which induces demand and doesn’t alleviate traffic (a claimed goal of Driving Connections).
- Alton Sinkhole - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 1:44 pm:
Oh good I was just worrying it’s not high enough. What a scam.
- City Zen - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 2:01 pm:
==the toll rates for passenger vehicles will remain among the lowest in the nation==
Nation as in 34 states. 16 states don’t have toll roads.
This “low” cost is partially offset by the cost per mile Illinois spends for non-interstate tollroads, which is 7th highest in the nation.
- Sue - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 2:28 pm:
Waiting for JB to say he doesn’t control the Tollway Board-for a guy who constantly criticizes the President for causing inflation- he has raised the sales tax- now imposes a 50 percent increase for tolls and raises the fuel tax every year - but it is Trump’s faukt
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 2:51 pm:
==which is 7th highest in the nation.==
So? What’s your point?
- Anyone Remember - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 2:53 pm:
For the record … if the 2012 rate, $0.0700, had been indexed for inflation, it would be $0.1031 … getting back to the starting place.
- Excitable Boy - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 3:34 pm:
- cost per mile Illinois spends for non-interstate tollroads, which is 7th highest in the nation. -
Illinois is a large state with a ton of rural roads. That high cost isn’t because of the Chicago metro region.
- Just a guy - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 3:37 pm:
Steve - I was just going to ask when SDG is going to try to find a way to get some of that money to fund CPS…
- Roadrager - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 4:33 pm:
==the cost per mile Illinois spends for non-interstate tollroads, which is 7th highest in the nation==
The only non-interstate toll road in Illinois is Route 390, which goes between Elk Grove Village and Schaumburg for ten whole miles and is the least-used road in the tollway system.
There’s “small sample size” and then there’s whatever you just tried to do.
- Johnny B - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 4:58 pm:
Illinois ranks as the 25th largest state in terms of square miles, so we are a medium state.
https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/us-states-by-size.html
- Casper The Ghost Bus - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 6:12 pm:
The Indiana Bears stadium plan raises tolls every six months to help pay for Bears infrastructure, though the increases happen whether or not the team moves there.
- I.T. Guy - Wednesday, Aug 19, 26 @ 7:37 pm:
== As a concession to labor groups, lawmakers granted the Tollway permission==
The Tollway did the best they could being handed something the didn’t ask for. The legislature also specified the amount of increases and inflation adjustments every 2 years.