SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) released the following statement after Governor Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2111, controversial transit legislation that sweeps hundreds of millions of dollars in motor fuel sales tax revenue away from downstate communities and sends it to Chicago:
“Governor Pritzker’s decision to sign Senate Bill 2111 is a direct slap in the face to downstate Illinois. This law sweeps hundreds of millions of dollars from the sales tax on motor fuel, money intended to support roads and bridges across our communities, and hands nearly all of it to Chicago.
“Let’s be clear about what this means. By giving Chicago control over this revenue stream, Governor Pritzker has effectively guaranteed that the sales tax on motor fuel will never be eliminated. Once Chicago politicians gain access to a tax, they never give it up. Families across Illinois will now be stuck paying this tax permanently to cover years of transit mismanagement they had no role in creating.
“While Illinois’ Transportation Lockbox itself wasn’t technically raided, downstate communities rely on the funds that were taken in order to maintain safe roads, support local commerce, and keep people moving. Instead of protecting that investment, the Governor chose to strip funding from downstate Illinois and use it to bail out Mayor Brandon Johnson’s failing transit system.
“This is not a shared sacrifice, no matter how supporters try to spin it. This is yet another Chicago power grab at the expense of downstate Illinoisans.”