JB Pritzker is the greatest threat to hardworking American taxpayers

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker constantly slams President Donald Trump because he knows that in his Democratic Party-controlled State of Illinois, Trump is very unpopular. And for good reason, of course.

But is Gov. Pritzker any better?

Since he was elected, Illinoisans paid about $16.5 billion MORE in state taxes in the latest year than they would have if 2018 tax levels had remained constant, or roughly $1,400 more per median household annually.

The economy nationally is severely stressed because of Trump’s policies. Worse is Trump’s uncaring attitude, in which he brushes off the massive increases in costs his policies have caused for the American consumer, and the constant shifting of his focus from funding Americans to funding himself and his family.

Pritzker constantly criticizes Trump because he knows that it resonates with the economically burdened American residents in Illinois. Immune to the cost hikes are Trump’s MAGA morons who are consumed mainly by hatred, racism, and discrimination and who don’t really care about raising taxes and fees because they see them as a means of eliminating people they dislike.

But Pritzker is a hypocrite. During his eight years in office, he has raised taxes and fees 57 times.

The most recent and oppressive increase is the 57 percent hike in the cost of Tolls on the state’s tollways. Motorists, already burdened by the state’s gasoline tax, which makes Trump’s economic cost hikes even worse than they are, will face a 57 percent increase for passenger vehicles and a 30 percent increase for commercial vehicles — the trucking companies get a break because they donate to the unions and to his campaign coffers.

What used to be a 45-cent toll will now jump to $1.24.

The increase is outrageous, pushed through by Pritzker’s rubber-stamp-controlled Tollway board.

The overall state taxes and fees Pritzker hiked — displayed in the chart below —would generate $77 billion to the state, mainly to cover Union-driven pensions for his patronage and supporter base.

You as a taxpayer, won’t see many benefits at all.

Pritzker even engaged in a sleight-of-hand in which he terminated the State Grocery Tax — telling you he is saving you money. But that money was actually going to each municipality in the state. When the Grocery tax was eliminated, the revenue for each municipality was eliminated.

Basically, Pritzker shifted the grocery tax from his back as State Governor to the backs of your local officials, a political move he hoped would make him seem like he cares about Illinois’ residents.

He doesn’t really care about the burden of the economy, mainly because Pritzker is super wealthy. He just put $65 million into his election campaign for Governor.

What does Pritzker care about needing money? He has all he needs.

Much of the details on Illinois excessive taxes and fees are documented by the Illinois Policy Institute, which wrote this about the Tollway Tax, which begins Jan. 1:

The measure will increase tolls by about 45 cents each for passengers to an average of $1.24 per toll, costing a commuter who passes through two tolls a day for 50 weeks $225 more in 2027. Commercial vehicle tolls will increase 30%, which could increase the price of consumer goods transported through Northern Illinois.

Worse, starting in 2029, automatic inflation-linked increases would be imposed every two years without additional board approval. The Illinois Policy Institute projects that passenger toll prices will triple from current levels by 2055.

The proposal was approved 8-0 to fund a new $26.5 billion, 15-year capital plan, but the automatic toll hikes will continue beyond the timeline of the proposed projects.

The tollway board members are Chairman Arnie Rivera, Vice Chairman Jim Connolly, Jacqueline Gomez Fuentes, Manish Mehta, Melissa Neddermeyer, Scott Paddock, Jim Sweeney, and Mark Wright.

That could explain why the Chicago Teachers Union has filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Policy Institute, because the Unions are in cahoots with Pritzker and the fast-rising pensions that are dragging the state and its citizens and taxpayers downward.

The big problem, of course, is that the Republican Party in Illinois is a disaster that clings to our insane President Donald Trump. Republican challenger Darren Baily has absolutely no plan for controlling spending in Illinois and has done a poor job of defining his issues. (That’s one reason why Republicans and MAGA Morons cling to Trump because it deflects from their idiocies.

Gasoline tax 19¢/gal Doubled to 38¢ in 2019 Drivers
then indexed to inflation

Diesel tax Higher than Increased substantially with. Trucking/businesses;
gas already 2019 infrastructure law consumers

Vehicle $101/year $151/year Vehicle owners
Registration

Electric vehicle $35 extra Changed to $100 EV owners
registration above standard registration

Vehicle title fee $95 $150Vehicle buyers/owners

Cigarette tax $1.98/pack $2.98/pack Smokers

Parking tax No statewide tax 6% daily/hourly; 9%. Drivers/parking
monthly/annual customers

Sports betting Didn’t exist Sports wagering legalized Sportsbooks/bettors
tax and taxed; subsequently
increased

Cannabis taxes Recreational cannabis Legalized with 10–25% state Consumers
illegal cannabis excise taxes
plus sales taxes

Telecommunications 7% 8.65% in 2025 Phone/telecom
tax customers

Tobacco/vaping tax Lower Increased to 45% of Consumers
wholesale price in FY26

Short-term Many rentals outside Expanded IL hotel tax Airbnb
rental tax state hotel tax to short-term rentals VRBO
customers
Corporate tax Various Multiple restrictions on Businesses
changes deductions/losses

Sports-bet None 25¢/50¢ per wager Sportsbooks; some
transaction tax beginning FY26 passed to bettors

FY27 business — Hundreds of millions Businesses/platforms;
/digital taxes in additional taxes possible consumer
pass-through

Tollway Increase 45 Cents 57 % hike, $1.24 passenger cars
30 % hike commercial vehicles

The biggest early change was the 2019 Rebuild Illinois capital program. Pritzker and the General Assembly financed infrastructure spending with a package that included the gas-tax doubling, higher vehicle fees, cigarette taxes, and the new parking tax.

When Pritzker entered office, Illinois’ state gasoline tax was:

2018/early 2019: 19¢ per gallon

The 2019 infrastructure law doubled it:

July 2019: 38¢ per gallon

But there was another significant change: Illinois began automatically indexing the tax to inflation, meaning lawmakers don’t have to vote every time it increases.

Consequently, the tax subsequently climbed well above 40¢ per gallon.

The FY2027 budget temporarily delayed the scheduled July 2026 inflation adjustment until January 2027 rather than eliminating it.

So there are two ways people count this:

One tax increase: the 2019 law that doubled and indexed the tax.

Or multiple increases: counting each subsequent inflation adjustment separately.

That’s one reason different organizations produce different totals.

The same 2019 infrastructure package significantly increased what Illinois drivers pay.

For a standard passenger vehicle:

Registration:
$101 → $151

That’s a 49.5% increase.

Vehicle title fees went:

$95 → $150

That’s about a 58% increase.

These are particularly significant because registration is a recurring annual cost, whereas a title fee is generally associated with acquiring/transferring a vehicle.

Illinois also created a statewide parking tax.

The tax was set at:

6% for hourly/daily parking
9% for monthly/annual parking

This is on top of applicable local parking taxes.

For someone paying $300/month for a Chicago parking garage, for example, the 9% state tax represents:

$27/month

or

$324/year

in state parking tax before considering Chicago’s own parking taxes.

Illinois increased its cigarette tax by $1 per pack:

$1.98 → $2.98 per pack

That’s roughly a 50% increase in the state cigarette excise tax.

This was another revenue source for the 2019 capital program.

There’s been an interesting shift during Pritzker’s tenure.

The early increases included highly visible consumer taxes—gas, cigarettes, parking and vehicle fees.

More recently, Illinois has increasingly relied on business taxes, gambling taxes, telecommunications taxes and changes to corporate deductions.

For example, the FY2026 budget Pritzker signed in June 2025 relied on approximately $709 million in new tax revenue. Importantly, it did not increase the general personal income, corporate income or sales-tax rates.

Among those changes:

Illinois increased the telecommunications tax:

7% → 8.65%

The state estimated that would generate approximately:

$49 million annually.

Unlike some corporate-tax changes, this one can appear relatively directly on consumers’ telecom bills.

The FY2026 budget also raised taxes on tobacco, vaping and other nicotine products.

The applicable rate increased to 45%, with the state estimating approximately:

$50 million in additional revenue.

So this is another increase directly affecting consumers who purchase those products.

Illinois’ treatment of sports gambling has changed several times under Pritzker.

Sports betting was legalized in 2019 with a 15% tax on adjusted gross revenue.

Illinois later moved to a graduated tax structure that could reach 40% for the largest sportsbooks.

Then the FY2026 budget added something unusual:

Sportsbooks pay:

25¢ per wager for their first 20 million wagers

and

50¢ per wager above 20 million.

The state estimated about $36 million from it.

And this provides a good example of why a “business tax” can affect individuals.

After Illinois adopted the tax, some major sportsbooks announced transaction fees for Illinois customers in response.

Illinois also expanded the state’s hotel tax so that short-term rentals became subject to it.

That means rentals through services such as Airbnb/VRBO are treated more like traditional hotels for state tax purposes.

So although legally the tax obligation involves the rental business/operator, travelers can ultimately see the tax in the price of their stay.

This is one of the largest but least visible tax increases.

Illinois allows businesses that lose money in one year to use those losses to offset taxable income in another year.

Pritzker-era budgets have repeatedly limited the amount of those losses corporations can deduct.

For example, Pritzker’s FY2025 proposal sought roughly $526 million by extending a cap on corporate net operating loss deductions.

That’s technically not an increase in the corporate income-tax rate.

Illinois can leave the rate unchanged while increasing what corporations actually owe by restricting deductions.

That’s an important distinction in political discussions about whether Illinois “raised corporate taxes.”

The FY2026 budget contained another major corporate change estimated to generate approximately:

$336 million

from changes affecting how businesses—particularly businesses outside Illinois—calculate taxable Illinois profits.

Supporters described this as “leveling the playing field” between Illinois and out-of-state businesses.

Critics characterize it as a corporate tax increase.

Either way, it results in businesses paying approximately $336 million more to Illinois under the state’s projections.

This is particularly relevant because it’s now August 2026.

Pritzker signed the FY2027 budget on June 16, 2026, and it contains hundreds of millions of dollars of additional tax increases, particularly involving:

businesses, social-media companies, cryptocurrency/digital assets and fantasy sports.

It also lays groundwork for a future digital advertising tax.

At the same time, the budget temporarily postponed the scheduled July 2026 gas-tax inflation increase until January 1, 2027, and temporarily reduced the sales tax on school supplies during a 10-day August period.

The Illinois Policy Institute calculates the FY27 package at more than $800 million in tax increases, although that figure should be attributed to the organization rather than treated as an official state estimate.

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