McHenry County putting sales tax hike to good use: Roadwork

The pain of paying higher sales taxes should at least have a silver lining for McHenry County residents: relief on the roads.

The McHenry County Board's Transportation Committee endorsed a resolution Wednesday committing revenues from a new quarter-percent sales tax hike to improving county roads and other measures aimed at making travel easier in the county.

The tax, created by the state legislature as part of its mass transit bailout, could generate as much as $9.4 million annually for the county, said Transportation Committee Chairman Dan Shea.

"It's going to mean road improvements and congestion removal," he said. "It means that projects planned for the next 10 years or next 15 years can now be moved up."

Under the measure approved Wednesday, revenue from the tax will help fund the county's long-range transportation plan, either by funding specific projects, matching federal or state grants or repaying bonds issued for road improvements.

The resolution now goes to the board's Finance and Audit Review Committee and then the full county board for final approval.