Palos Mayors Back Emanuel’s Call For State Gas Tax Increase

PALOS HILLS-PALOS PARK, IL — Mayors Gerald R. Bennett and John Mahoney of Palos Hills and Palos Park, respectively, have joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel in calling for a 20 to 30 cent per gallon increase in the state's gas tax to pay for a statewide transportation bill. The increase would fund major road improvements and mass transit in the state.

At a news conference in City Hall Tuesday, Emanuel said that two dozen states have raised their gas tax since 2012, and Illinois' gas tax has remained frozen at 34 cents a gallon since 1990. He said Illinois "can't wait any longer."

“For Illinois to maintain its status as the transportation hub of the nation, we need to make major infrastructure investments to support our transportation systems,” Mayor Emanuel said in a media release. “In addition to critical funding to replace aging roads and bridges, sustained, flexible revenues need to flow directly to public transit. As the backbone of our larger transportation network and a stimulator of economic development, transit needs a dedicated, reliable revenue source so that we can continue to modernize and grow the system.”

During the Tuesday news conference, Emanuel was joined by members of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, which represents 275 communities and more than 9 million residents in northeastern Illinois.

“All funding options need to be on the table,” said Park Forest Mayor John Ostenburg and chairman of the mayors caucus in a statement. “Revenue sources that have traditionally funded roads and transit in the past can support our needs today. However, with the continued emergence of new transportation technologies, they won’t last long. We need to have the courage and foresight to experiment and pilot new sources of revenue for infrastructure.”

Emanuel has previously said that before he leaves in May, he would call for a state capital bill to fix the state's infrastructure.

On Tuesday, Emanuel said electric car owners should not be exempt from contributing to the improvements, but did not specify how they would be taxed.

Emanuel appears to have updated a press release issued Tuesday that originally named 26 mayors who are part of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, which represents 275 communities and more than 9 million residents in northeastern Illinois. While many mayors support a new transportation plan, several balked at the gas tax increase. All names had been removed from the release as of Wednesday afternoon.

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