You may have filled your gas tank over the weekend to lessen the blow of today’s (Monday) new gas tax in Illinois. The state gas tax doubled. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the infrastructure bill in Springfield. The measure adds an additional 19 cents a gallon of gas to the state’s gas tax and increases vehicle registration and other driving fees to pay for infrastructure. The Illinois Association of Convenience Stores says Illinoisans already pay more than $4 billion in gas taxes and the tax hike would take an additional $4 billion out of the economy.

Another measure the governor signed Friday expands gambling to include sports betting, but it also increases the tax on a pack of cigarettes by a dollar to nearly $3 a pack. That tax starts today (Monday) also. The overall bill will pay for construction projects. There will be six additional casinos throughout the state, nearly doubling the number of video gambling machines allowed, and increases the tax on video gambling.

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