SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A group of Republican lawmakers in Springfield, including a local mayor, are calling for the state to give some economic relief to taxpayers that goes beyond what Governor JB Pritzker has proposed.
Pritzker proposed freezing the state gasoline tax instead of allowing it to take a scheduled hike. Republicans want the gas tax suspended when inflation reaches a certain level.
“Anyone who commutes to work already knows what kind of impact the high prices have,” said State Rep. Mark Luft, also Mayor of Pekin. “But, imagine if your job involved driving for a substantial portion of the day. That’s what our police officers on patrol do, and our firefighters answering calls.” And, Luft says, Public Works and other city employees.
Luft says his city’s pocketbook is taking a hit thanks to gas.
“If we’re having to pay twice as much for gas, or close to it, it cuts in to funds available for every other service the city can provide,” said Luft. “Our options are limited, because we are getting close to the end of our fiscal year. Must of our fuel budget has already been used up.”
Some municipalities, however, negotiate prices annually with fuel providers that don’t move throughout the course of the fiscal year.
Lawmakers also want to see the state gas tax cut to and frozen at 18 cents per gallon instead of 39 cents, but the GOP claims such measures haven’t really gone anywhere. They say Pritzker’s proposals for economic relief, which also include a temporary suspension of the state’s sales tax on groceries, don’t go far enough.
Comments