Pritzker defends plan to raise tolls

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says higher proposed Illinois Tollway rates are for many users that travel to and from other states.

Illinois Tollway officials are proposing a toll increase of about 45 cents per toll for IPASS users and a 30% rate hike for commercial IPASS users.

At a ribbon cutting for building solutions company Amrize in Chicago on Tuesday, a reporter from The Center Square asked the governor about the potential burden on companies that move materials in Illinois.

“I want to be clear that many of the trucks, many of the cars that are traveling on our tollways are actually from out of state and going to other states, so they’re actually not Illinois companies and not Illinois individuals,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker defended the tollway board’s plan to raise tolls.

“I think they’re trying to be as responsible as we are. They are trying to be responsible with their budget, make sure they balance their budget. They maintain the infrastructure that we so badly need in order to attract companies like this to the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.

Illinois’ roads and bridges ranked 37th in Reason Foundation’s annual highway report released in March.

“It’s something that they need to do in order to make sure that we have the best roads, the best infrastructure, and I think that’s something that you may overlook may when you contemplate why they would consider this,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker said there has been a lot of inflation since tolls were last raised for passenger vehicles in 2012. Commercial tolls have risen in Illinois every year since 2021.

Senate Bill 2111, the $1.5 billion Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act signed by the governor last December, allowed tollway officials to impose additional rate increases.

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, said the Illinois tollway system is an embarrassment.

“I have business partners that come into Chicago from New Jersey, from Florida, and when they come here and they rent a car without that I-PASS, they’re bringing bags of nickels. They look like they all own washing machine businesses,” McLaughlin said on The States powered by The Center Square.

A driver who pays one I-PASS toll each way to work five days a week for 50 weeks would pay an extra $225 per year in tolls.

The proposed toll hikes are part of the Illinois Tollway’s 15-year, $26.5 billion capital program officials say will improve traffic in addition to providing “widespread maintenance and improvement” projects.