Will County Gazette

Republican candidate for Illinois' 97th State House District Michelle Smith is calling for relief at the pump for Illinois families paying high gas taxes amid soaring oil prices due to the Ukraine conflict. 

“I am frustrated, like many Illinois families, with the rising cost of gasoline and everyday purchases," Smith told Will County Gazette. "Inflation is hitting families hard nationwide, but even harder in states which have been poorly managed, like Illinois. Out-of-touch politicians like J.B. Pritzker cannot resist efforts to raise taxes on Illinois families, fueling their tax-and-spend mentality. The families of Illinois deserve better.” 

Pritzker, who signed a bill in 2019 which doubled the state's gas tax, recently said he is looking at ways to reduce the gas tax "because we recognize, even since I introduced my budget, that war has broken out and the result of that war is that oil prices have gone through the roof.” The state has had the second-highest gas tax in the nation.

“State lawmakers need to provide relief at the pump to Illinois families and carefully examine the multiple layers of taxation on fuel and other consumer goods," Smith continued. "Middle-class families are being squeezed and we owe it to taxpayers to suspend or freeze sales tax on motor fuel when inflation rates are high.”

Despite suggesting a freeze, the governor has not acted on the proposal he mentioned last month. 

Illinoisans pay nearly 80 cents per gallon for taxes alone, federal and state taxes combined. Across the border to the west, Missouri pays the second-lowest gas tax. In Illinois, a gallon of gas costs 42 cents more than Missouri due to differing tax policies.

Smith is a Plainfield resident who ran in the 2016 election cycle for the Illinois 49th State Senate seat. She is a small business owner who has served as president of the board of education in District 202. In her last race, she promised to refuse a state pension.