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CHICAGO—Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of America (TUA), one of the largest taxpayer organizations in America, today filed a lawsuit against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, its Chair Paula Wolff and Electronic Transaction Consultants Corporation in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The complaint seeks to roll back the recently adopted, back-breaking toll increase. It also alleges the Tollway Authority has violated state law by failing to convert tollways to freeways and by failing to plan for its own dissolution, as required by law.
“The tollway is a creature of statute that went into effect in July 1953,” said Tobin. “The slogan of the authority was ‘Toll Free in ’73.’ That was when the toll roads were to be paid off and converted to freeways.”
“Instead, the tollway keeps expanding, building more toll roads, and hiking tolls, ensuring that it will live forever. This is contrary to the legislative intent of its creators.”
“We intend to ask the Court to enjoin any attempt to impose the higher tolls until the Tollway Authority complies with the law,” said Tobin. The Vice President of TUA, Christina Tobin, and TUA’s Director of Outreach, Rae Ann McNeilly, are also named as Plaintiffs, as well as two motorists from Wisconsin, Carol Westphal and Glenn Westphal, of Shawano, Wisconsin.
The suit (#11CH33144) is assigned to Judge Rita Novak and asks for a class action on behalf of tollway users.
Complaint Filed to Kill Huge $12 Billion Illinois Tollway-Tax Increase
ADDRESS
Chicago, IL 60606
205 W. Randolph Street, Suite 1305
Phone: (312) 427-5128
Fax: (312) 427-5139
Phone: (312) 427-5128
Fax: (312) 427-5139
Website: https://www.taxpayersunitedofamerica.org
Email: info@taxpayersunited.org
Email: info@taxpayersunited.org
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thank you, thank you, thank you
How do I get involved in this suite. Today, I pay $1.00/day to travel to and from work. On January 1, 2012, my tolls will increase to $2.00/day. That will increase my annual commute from $260 to $520.
What can we do to lobby this effort?
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.. I will be happy to join in that class action lawsuit….
Please add me to any list of signatures supporting this lawsuit. These proposed increases will add approximately $760 per year increase out of pocket for me. I barely can afford to work as a result if this goes through
This is just good old fashioned theft! Double it, Triple it…what choice do the people have? Get rid of the toll booths and attendants and it will cut the cost in half. They have been stealing our money long enough. Perhaps some jail time for these people!
Thank you for standing up for Tollway customers. I attended the public hearing in August in Wheaton and found it to be heavily stacked by presumably construction firms and was dismayed by the casual dismissal of Tollway Board member Morris’ proposal for a 15 cent increase now rather then the outrageous 87.5 percent increase. Let me know how I can help.
Tax increases have to stop! in 2012 we will have to pay a 66% higher state income taxes, and now the tollway wants to change more? This is too much, a lot of people are out of work or having a hard time getting steady income.
They can’t do this to us… they need to make cuts in their products, if we did not pay the taxes for it already, they shouldnt be working with anything other then that money…
If they need more money, get a fund raiser dont force tax. Because then those taxes never leave. I’m paying them, and what do I get back? What I get back is the same roads being tore up, repaved, then shortly after deciding well lets expand that road now… so they tear up what they just paved and then expand and repave again… I see this happening all over Like 355.
Instead of charging taxes for a expansion of the highway… why dont you build a new train service from romeoville/boilingbook to schumberg and cut traffic down for cheaper.