“Toll free in 73” was a popular slogan decades ago in Illinois, according to an ABC 7 Intelligence Report from 2011. But today, drivers in Illinois are still paying those tolls – the same drivers who also just saw the state’s gas tax double in July.
When the Illinois General Assembly created the Illinois State Toll Highway Commission in 1953, lawmakers at first used the revenue to pay for the original bonding needed to build 186 miles of interstate highways.
Revenues exceeded expectations and the original bonds were eventually paid off, but the tolls still remained on Illinois roadways. Nevertheless, lawmakers made the commission permanent in 1968, creating the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority that exists today.
Former Gov. George Ryan proposed finally eliminating the tolls in 1999, according to ABC, an idea that faded with his governorship in 2003.
Today, every toll paid serves as a reminder of Illinois political leaders’ long history of broken promises. |