McHenry Times

Illinois state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-Crystal Lake) is one of a growing number of state lawmakers blasting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s decision to increase funding for a $205 million airport project that exists only in theory at this point. 

Much of the funding for the project, which calls for major infrastructure upgrades along Interstate 57 and nearby Eagle Lake Road, will come from the recent doubling of the state gas tax to 38 cents per gallon. Skillicorn views it as being more of the same heartache to which Illinois taxpayers have become accustomed.

“Just like the $200 million spent on the Obama Political Center, you pay more at the pump to fund pork,” the veteran legislator recently posted on Facebook.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

Besides pointing to the extravagant price tag, critics argue there is no real need for the tentatively named South Suburban Airport. A well-known fiscal conservative, Skillicorn has long been on record with his opposition to taxpayers being forced to pay for projects like the Obama Center now being constructed on Chicago’s South Side.   

“I have no problem with an Obama Center,” Skillicorn recently told the McHenry Times. “But I do have a problem with taxpayers supporting it. The people of Illinois are broke and need a break. The political elites just don’t get the struggles of the average family.”

Skillicorn said there is no doubt in his mind that collecting private donations would be a fairer way to fund the project.

“Think of it this way, a new neighbor wants to build a home but expects his neighbors to pay for the foundation and driveway," he said. "We wouldn’t stand for that, but that’s exactly what the political elites did to us.”