Holland Backs Rahm's Call For Capital Bill, But Not Gas Tax Hike

FRANKFORT, IL — Mayor Jim Holland said while he supports a transportation tax bill that would help infrastructure both locally and statewide, he's not on board with a proposed 20- to 30-cent statewide gas tax increase proposed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel during a press conference on Tuesay.

Emanuel appears to have updated a press release issued Tuesday that originally named 26 mayors who are part of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, which represents 275 communities and more than 9 million residents in northeastern Illinois. While many mayors support a new transportation plan, several balked at the gas tax increase. All names had been removed from the release as of Wednesday afternoon.

“I did not authorize my name to be used in that press release. Nor did I say I favored a 20- to 30-cent per gallon tax increase on gasoline," Holland told Patch. "What I do support is a transportation capital bill and I would state that I support very direct taxing of people in traditional ways to support this [potential] transportation capital funding bill.”

He stressed that any bill would have to come from the state level and not locally. He also emphasized that the bill should come from familiar tax sources, although he didn't give specifics on where funds could, or should, come from.

“It really is a state question. It’s our state legislators that need to be working on that,” Holland said. “Frankly, I think they are. I think they are concerned about it and they understand that there are transportation needs and I think the public understands that, too. Therefore I can support a transportation capital bill with a traditional funding source that people are familiar with.”

Joliet Mayor Bob O'Deirk echoed Holland's thoughts on a possible transportation tax bill, but not on the specific numbers Emanuel used.

At a news conference in City Hall Tuesday, Emanuel said that two dozen states have raised their gas tax since 2012, and Illinois' gas tax has remained frozen at 34 cents a gallon since 1990. He said Illinois "can't wait any longer."

“For Illinois to maintain its status as the transportation hub of the nation, we need to make major infrastructure investments to support our transportation systems,” Mayor Emanuel said in a media release. “In addition to critical funding to replace aging roads and bridges, sustained, flexible revenues need to flow directly to public transit. As the backbone of our larger transportation network and a stimulator of economic development, transit needs a dedicated, reliable revenue source so that we can continue to modernize and grow the system.”

During the Tuesday news conference, Emanuel was joined by members of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, which represents 275 communities and more than 9 million residents in northeastern Illinois.

“All funding options need to be on the table,” said Park Forest Mayor John Ostenburg and chairman of the mayors caucus in a statement. “Revenue sources that have traditionally funded roads and transit in the past can support our needs today. However, with the continued emergence of new transportation technologies, they won’t last long. We need to have the courage and foresight to experiment and pilot new sources of revenue for infrastructure.”
Emanuel has previously said that before he leaves in May, he would call for a state capital bill to fix the state's infrastructure.

On Tuesday, Emanuel said electric car owners should not be exempt from contributing to the improvements, but did not specify how they would be taxed.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images