Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) says he's continuing to fight fuel- and transportation-based tax increases as a state representative just as he did as a candidate.
"In 2016 voters approved a ‘lockbox’ constitutional amendment to guarantee all motor fuel taxes and fees only goes toward roads," Skillicorn told the McHenry Times. "We don’t need another penny, all the money is in the lockbox,"
The lockbox refers to the Illinois Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment, approved by voters in 2016, that prohibits legislators "from using transportation funds for anything other than their stated purpose."
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And that's the way it is, Skillicorn said. "The constitutional amendment – the Safe Roads Amendment – provides a lockbox for transportation funds passed in November of 2016," he said.
Skillicorn has represented the 66th House District since 2016. He was unopposed in the March primary and he is running unopposed in November's general election. The 66th House District includes parts of Kane and McHenry counties.
At least one group in the state is recommending a way around the lockbox. Last month, Illinois Economic Policy Institute – not to be confused with the Conservative Illinois Policy Institute, which has long opposed such measures – released a report recommending an 85-cent gas tax hike or raising license plate fees from $101 to $578.
The increase is necessary because lawmakers have failed to provide adequate funding for the Illinois' transportation infrastructure, according to the report dated April 4.
The 85-cent gas tax hike in particular, which has the support of the National Tax Foundation, would leave the state with the highest gas tax in the nation.
Neither proposal has yet been translated into legislation in the state's General Assembly.
Skillicorn is no newcomer in his opposition to increasing gas taxes in Illinois. In April 2016, Skillicorn, then a candidate for the 66th House District seat, referred to similar measures then in the state Senate as "an outrageous over-reach." Those measures were Senate Bill 3267, called "the Automotive Mileage Tax," sponsored by Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) who represents Senate District 23; and Senate Bill 3279, called "the 30 Cent Per Gallon Tax Hike," sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) who represents Senate District 7.
"When I look at Springfield, there are no solutions; only talk of higher taxes or threats of slashing services," Skillicorn told the McHenry Times at that time. "Instead of always demanding more money from families, we should be finding ways to spend funds more efficiently and reform the burdensome bureaucracy smothering growth."
Skillicorn said he will fight the latest round of transportation-based tax increases and any that might follow. "I will stop any hike in gas taxes or fees," he said.
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