Toll hike coming? Board OKs hearings on potential 45-cent increase

Illinois tollway directors agreed Thursday to hold statewide public hearings about a proposed 45-cent rate hike on I-PASS customers with passenger vehicles, while also unveiling a new $26.5 billion capital plan funded by the increase.

The toll hike proposal also would raise fees on trucks with I-PASS by about 30%.

The 15-year capital program, dubbed Driving Connections, is “truly unprecedented in its scope, its level of investment and the impact it will have on the communities that we serve,” Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse said.

“We’re talking about a long-term vision that doesn’t just maintain our system but transforms it to meet the needs of the future.”

If the plan is approved, the initial hike would begin Jan. 1. Tolls then would continue to rise every other year based on inflation, starting in 2029.

That element drew criticism from a former tollway director who noted consumers already are reeling from high prices.

“Raising tolls without a board vote every other year, is simply not good public policy,” said Bill Morris, a former Grayslake mayor and state senator.

“It dramatically reduces the need of the board to annually focus on spending. It also takes away the public's opportunity to comment on spending because future increases under the indexing technique avoid the required public hearings.”

Tollway leaders contend the proposed construction will reduce traffic and gridlock, and open up opportunities with expanded interchanges.

The most expensive item is improving the congested Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) and I-88 interchange, and widening stretches of I-355 between I-55 and Army Trail Road for $6.63 billion.

Another project, costing $3.53 billion, would add a new access point on I-88 near Dixon and widen the corridor between the Aurora toll plaza and the Eisenhower Expressway.

“Everyone benefits from investment in infrastructure,” Rouse said, citing safer roads, economic development and job creation among the positives.

Officials stressed passenger tolls haven't increased for about 15 years, with I-PASS holders paying an average of 7 cents per mile currently. That could grow to 11 cents per mile, or roughly 45 cents more per toll.

In comparison, the national weighted average is 13 cents per mile.

The vote to have hearings was unanimous with minimal discussion.

“We look forward to hearing the input and feedback,” Chair Arnie Rivera said. “This truly is the beginning of a really exciting journey.”

The trucking industry reacted quickly, saying their rates have steadily swelled by a compounded amount of roughly 85% to 100% over 20 years.

“It’s sticker shock for cars, but the truckers are already paying more every year,” Mid-West Truckers Association CEO Don Schaefer said. “Unfortunately it’s going to come out of someone’s pockets and the truckers will have to pass it along.”

The board’s last major construction program and toll hike was voted on in 2011, when rates nearly doubled.

“I haven’t seen a justification to blindly give them this kind of money (when) they still haven’t kept the promises they made 11 years ago,” Schaefer said, adding assurances of more parking for trucks were never fulfilled by the agency.

Construction industry leaders hailed the move as did the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

“Infrastructure is not simply concrete and steel, it is the key to economic opportunity,” former chamber board Chair Dan Wagner said. “It enables businesses to move efficiently, allows workers to reach jobs safely and helps communities attract investment and thrive.”

Thirteen public hearings are scheduled in mid-July before a possible vote Aug. 19.

The proposal follows the enactment of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act in 2025, when lawmakers approved a transit rescue bill. The legislation included a provision hiking tolls by 45 cents for cars in 2027 to fund a tollway capital program.