CHICAGO — By Fourth of July, Illinois drivers likely will be greeted at the gas pump by 4-by-8-inch signs informing them that as they fill their tanks, they’re actually saving money, courtesy of their elected leaders in Springfield.
Legislation pushed through in the closing hours of the General Assembly’s truncated spring session this month freezes a scheduled hike in the state’s gas tax for six months. The measure, now awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature, includes a stipulation that every gas station in the state post a notice informing drivers about the gas tax freeze.
That requirement, laid out in a single paragraph in the Democrats’ 923-page election-year tax relief plan, has gas station owners grumbling and Republicans howling. Democrats have responded by calling their GOP colleagues hypocrites because their party pushed a similar election-year proposal two decades ago.
