Forever toll increases? Some question rationale of tollway’s plan to raise rates every two years

For some Illinois drivers, the sticker shock of a nearly 60% toll increase proposed for 2027 has obfuscated inflation-related hikes set to recur every two years effective 2029, if approved.

But not Oswego’s Tom Braun. “Perhaps the most disturbing item in the tollway’s request is the ability to raise the tolls in the future … through an annual increase,” Braun testified at a recent hearing in Aurora.

“The families of Illinois are already strained with the increased cost of living — the Illinois tollway feels it needs to do its part to make it worse,” he added.

The new revenue is needed for a 15-year, $26.5 billion capital program, Driving Connections, tollway leaders contend.

“In order to maintain the tollway’s transformational plan that will result in less congestion and improved roads, the tollway is proposing inflation adjustments every other year,” spokesperson Joelle McGinnis said.

“This is a standard industry practice for tollways across the nation and will enable Illinois tollway to provide consumers with the best possible roadways.”

The initial proposal would raise I-PASS passenger vehicle tolls from on average 7 cents to 11 cents a mile, or 57%, and truckers would see a 30% jump. Drivers can use a tollway trip calculator to estimate 2027 rates, but there are fewer specifics on the biennial increases.

Officials explained those would be tied to the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers. The CPI will be capped at 8% every two years, with a maximum CPI of 4% every year, officials said.

How will it work? Budgeteers will review how the CPI-U has changed and “the difference across that two-year period determines any increase in the toll rate,” McGinnis said. “We are unable to provide future predictions for several years in the future.”

For the last four years, average annual inflation ranged from 2.7% to 3.5%, she noted.

Under the proposal, a commuter who drives on I-90 from Barrington to work downtown and back 50 weeks a year would be charged $950 in 2027, up from $600 this year.

If a 6% increase over two years was applied to those tolls, that could grow to around $1,000 in 2029, or $400 more than in 2026, a preliminary analysis found.

“It’s very bad public policy because it removes any real pressure for budgetary discipline,” former tollway director and state Sen. Bill Morris contended.

Annual report data shows toll revenues of $1.29 billion in 2021, $1.34 billion in 2022, $1.38 billion in 2023, $1.44 billion in 2024 and $1.5 billion in 2025. That represents increases of 3.4% in 2022, nearly 3.2% in 2023, about 4.4% in 2024 and 3.8% in 2025.

“They have had increases in total revenue each of the last four years in excess of the rate of inflation. Why do we now need to index it, which means it will be a double hit?” asked Morris, former Waukegan mayor.

Tollway officials have said they face inflationary pressures for construction materials including steel, and that modernizing roads will speed commutes and reduce fuel consumption.

Biennial adjustments “ensure toll revenue grows with the rising costs of maintaining and enhancing the tollway system,” McGinnis explained. “This increased predictability will allow the tollway to deliver major capital projects responsibly while maintaining long term financial stability.”

Morris noted, “if you take the indexing out 20 years from now, you basically are removing the tollway as an option for poor people and (low-income) working people from being able to use that expressway system.”

However, he noted that the Illinois General Assembly bears responsibility for the hikes by sticking them in a 2025 transit reform bill. “If I were a board member, I’d be offended that the legislature has ordered you to raise rates and index rates.”

Got a comment or question? Send an email to mpyke@dailyherald.com.

Gridlock alert

• Illinois Department of Transportation crews on Monday begin resurfacing Waukegan Road between Glenview and Morton Grove. Drivers can expect delays from daytime lane closures until the project wraps up in November.

• Dundee Road resurfacing starts Aug. 10 between Kennicott Avenue in Arlington Heights to First Street in Wheeling. There will be on-and-off lane closures through summer 2027.

mpyke@dailyherald.com