Chicago City Council to consider plan to roll back 3 cents per gallon tax increase on Monday

CHICAGO - On Monday, a Chicago City Council committee will consider rolling back a 3 cents a gallon gas tax increase that was part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's pandemic budget.

But is a 30 cent savings per full up really going to save you money down the road?

In Illinois, drivers pay an average of 70 cents per gallon in fuel taxes.  The state motor fuel tax is 39 cents alone.

"That was 19 cents when Gov. JB Pritzker came into office and we had the 10th highest gas tax and then Gov. Pritzker signed a bill to double the gas tax which brought us up to the 2nd highest in the nation overall," said Adam Schuster, Senior Director of Budget and Tax Research, Illinois Policy Institute.

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Pritzker has also proposed a gas tax freeze. However, some fear that pennies on a gallon will only cause larger problems later down the line.

"Listen, I'm all for lower taxes. There's a lot of ways to do it. But I think, in this case, it's just a gimmick," said Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group.

Several gas stimulus proposals are being floated by Congress as well, but where would the money come from? 

"It’s a good gimmick cutting taxes, there’s nothing wrong with cutting taxes but in the end this is not a permanent solution," said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Maryland). "This money usually does go to building roads and bridges, building infrastructure. We’d have to back fill it and to backfill it. We’re going to have to borrow."

Three congressional representatives are pushing the "Gas rebate act of 2022" which would give Americans $100/month for gas and $100 for each dependent.