Pritzker Talks Affordability. His Tollway Wants Higher Tolls

For Illinois families already struggling with Pritzker’s ever-growing slew of 63 tax and fee hikes since he took office, this proposal will make driving in the northern part of the state more expensive – permanently. The Illinois Policy Institute estimates a typical commuter who passes through two tolls each workday would pay about $225 more in the first year under the proposal.

Even more troubling, the numbers indicate this is not a transportation system that needs more cash. The Illinois Tollway collected more than $1.75 billion in 2025, yet only needed $442 million to maintain operations and cover expenses. This excess means the agency has pocketed $22 billion more than needed to maintain the system since 1973, the year the state promised the roads would become “toll free.”

If existing toll revenues have consistently covered the cost of operating and maintaining the system, why are Illinois drivers now being asked to pay even more?

The answer is simple – politics. “If they [labor unions] were going to agree to give up almost a billion dollars a year from the road fund, that they can point to something that will help keep working people working and keep roads getting repaired,” Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch said after the passage of last year’s Chicago area transit bail-out. “I believe it’s a very minimal fee … and still some of the lowest fees in the country.”

In summary, special interests wanted more money.

And now, all Illinoisans will pay for it. Illinois already has the fifth-highest toll burden in the nation at $15.19 per 1,000 miles. Plus, higher tolls mean higher prices on goods in the northern part of the state as nearly everything purchased in Illinois travels by truck at some point.

Most concerning is that one vote, which could happen as early as August, would authorize automatic toll increases every other year indefinitely. Future board members would never have to publicly justify another increase, and Illinois drivers would simply watch tolls climb with inflation. Illinois Policy Institute research estimates passenger tolls would more than triple by 2055 if the toll hike is approved and automatic increases remain in place.

Supporters claim the increases are needed to fund a new $26.5 billion Driving Connections capital plan from the governor. However, that plan is expected to take only 15 years, while the automatic toll increases would continue perpetually. Pritzker’s infrastructure plan only came after the legislature approved the toll hikes, giving the board potentially less than six weeks to vote on it.

Pritzker laid the groundwork for this in 2019 when he signed legislation tying the state’s gas tax to inflation, creating automatic annual increases without lawmakers having to cast another politically difficult vote. The tollway proposal is a direct reflection of that model, allowing transportation costs to rise in the background, while public officials avoid accountability.

Illinois drivers have endured years of automatic gas tax increases and rising vehicle fees.

Asking Illinoisans to shoulder another permanent, inflation-linked increase moves the state further away from affordability, not closer. And that should matter to someone who says affordability is a priority.