State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, has signed on to co-sponsor legislation that would extend relief to Illinois residents in the midst of rising inflation and ballooning gas prices. House Bill 5829, filed on October 26, would extend the inflationary increases automatically included in state law until July 1, 2023, stopping the scheduled January 1 increase. Rep. Sosnowski has advocated for this pause in what would be an automatic increase to give some much-needed relief to Illinois residents, many of whom are struggling with the cost of inflation in nearly every aspect of everyday life.
Currently, gas prices in the Rockford region sit above $4 a gallon, with that price expected to rise and hit nearly $5 in the coming weeks, due largely to decreased oil production. As gas prices skyrocket across the nation, the high cost of inflation coupled with strained supply chains has exacerbated the issue.
Under Governor JB Pritzker, the state’s gas tax was doubled in 2019, increasing from 19 cents per gallon to 38 cents, and included an automatic annual inflation hike effective on July 1st of each year. During this year’s legislative session, Governor Pritzker signed legislation to delay the automatic gas tax hike by 6-months, which would cause two gas tax increases in 2023 to account for that pause. The legislation Rep. Sosnowski is co-sponsoring would prevent Illinois’ gas tax rate from going up twice next year.
“Illinois residents are no strangers to tax increases, but the weight of inflation paired with higher taxes is not sustainable,” Rep. Sosnowski said. “It is my job to work toward viable solutions to our state’s biggest challenges and right now that’s the rising cost of living in Illinois. Our legislation would prevent gas taxes from going up across the state on January 1. I’m hopeful we can put the needed pressure on majority Democrats to get this passed during the upcoming Veto Session so that local families are not hit even harder this winter with higher costs.”
Governor Pritzker’s 6-month “relief” plan required signs to be posted at Illinois gas pumps noting the legislation that created the short-term pause in the gas tax going up, but House Bill 5829 would negate such signs.
House Bill 5829 can be considered when the Illinois House of Representatives returns to Springfield for the Fall Veto Session scheduled for November 15-17 and November 29-December 1.