I have never heard the Democratic nominee for Governor J. B. Pritzker say he wants to tax us a penny and a half a mile every Illinois car drives in Illinois. Oregon has been doing it for many years. I think they are rebated for the tax at the pump I pay when I visit their beautiful state.

Why the mileage tax and not the pump price? I think the last time our gasoline tax was raised I had a Ford van that got 14 mpg. Now I have a Cherokee that has gotten 33 mph on a trip from Southern Illinois. I drove on the road just as far but paid less than half the tax. (Gasoline tax is per gallon and not a percentage of the price.) Hybrids might use a gas like propane, hydrogen, or battery power as well as gasoline. They will wear down the roads just as much as my old van and pay little or nothing. Electrics will pay nothing.

I like to make trips to other parts of our diverse country so the GPS device would keep me from having to pay for the miles outside of Illinois. It would be a lot more honest than me trying to keep records. Most people might not be as honest. One of my friends drives to Michigan most weekends and takes longer trips a couple times each year. Without the device it would seem odd most of his mileage was out-of-state. In an average year, I may have about half of my miles out of state.

If we want good roads we must pay for them somehow and a gasoline and mileage tax is the only fair way to do it. It isn’t fair for non-drivers to pay for my good roads. I have wondered for years when all states would smarten up and do this. I admire this forward thinking idea for Illinois.