Kane Board Chair: Rising gas prices unconnected to motor fuel taxes

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GENEVA – The average price of a gallon of gas in Kane County might be higher when compared to neighboring counties – according to a website that tracks gas prices – but that doesn’t tell the whole story, Board Chair Corinne Pierog said.

That’s because some municipalities in Kane County also levy their own local motor fuel taxes, she said.

Batavia levies 5 cents per gallon and St. Charles levies 2 cents per gallon, according to each municipality’s website. State law allows home-rule municipalities to levy a motor fuel tax, while non home-rule communities require a referendum to approve such a tax.

“The cost of rising gas prices at this point have nothing to do with the tax,” Pierog said. “It has everything to do with the commodity itself – availability, distribution, logistics.”

Kane County’s average gas price was listed at $4.57 per gallon, according to the AAA website.

It lists Cook County’s average gas price at $4.74, DeKalb’s at $4.60, DuPage’s at $4.57, Lake’s at $4.52, Kendall’s at $4.53, McHenry’s at $4.51 and Will’s at $4.45.

The county gas price averages are updated daily, according to the website.

The state motor fuel tax rate is 39.2 cents per gallon and the federal rate is 18.3 cents, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In comparison to neighboring counties, Lake and DuPage both County levy 8 cents and McHenry levies 4 cents per gallon.

The Kane County board enacted at 2-cent gas tax in 1991, then doubled it to 4 cents as of April 1, 2007, records show. It brings in about $8.7 million a year, records show.

Its intent was to fund repairs and maintenance to roadways and waterways, as well as for acquiring property and rights-of-way for public roads and waterways, according to the resolution.

Last month, Pierog advocated a 2-cent motor fuel tax increase for a total of 6 cents for continued road and bridge maintenance.

It would still be lower that DuPage and Lake counties’ gas tax, Pierog said.

“It’s for increased maintenance of the roads because of the increase in truck traffic that’s going to be happening in Kane County. We want to make sure our roads are adequately ready to receive its increase in traffic,” Pierog said. “Road repairs that Kane County needs and infrastructure support will cost $180 million, according to Kane County Department of Transportation.”

Rising gasoline prices are a direct result of higher oil prices due to supply chain disruptions caused by global market changes. Oil prices are rising worldwide due to the conflict in Eastern Europe. Last week, President Joe Biden banned all Russian oil imports. The country is the world’s second largest oil exporter behind only Saudi Arabia and several nations have imposed sanctions amid the war in Ukraine. Russia’s oil exports are now under what amounts to a ban, as shippers are refusing Russian oil, countries are turning away Russian tankers and banks are refusing to extend credit to Russia.

In 2021, the U.S. imported roughly 245 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia – a one-year increase of 24%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Shutting down a significant chunk of the country’s oil supply is bound to raise prices, said Carl Campbell, an economics professor at Northern Illinois University.

“There’s going to be less supply, and that drives up price substantially,” Campbell said. “We also produce a lot of our own oil, and we get a lot from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.”

When global markets are disrupted and supply decreased, gas station owners typically pass that price change onto the consumer, he said.

Shaw Local reporter Shane Taylor and editor Kelsey Rettke, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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