Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Village lobbyist warns of possible toll increases and pension costs in 2026; TIF extension and stadium issues cited
Summary
Village lobbyist Dan Schulman summarized the fall veto-session outcomes, highlighting a controversial Transit Reorganization bill that could create a Northern Illinois Transit Agency, potential authorization for a 45¢ toll increase per passenger vehicle pending Tollway Board action, and possible pension-equalization proposals that the lobbyist called a potential unfunded mandate for local governments.
Dan Schulman, the village's lobbyist, presented a one‑page legislative update to trustees Dec. 1 outlining several items from the fall veto session trustees should watch in 2026. He described a Transit Reorganization bill that establishes a Northern Illinois Transit Agency and said some municipal officials feared the board structure could give Chicago disproportionate influence. The measure, he said, included funding provisions that could enable a toll increase; Schulman told trustees the law would permit a rate rise of 45¢ per passenger vehicle but that any actual toll increase requires Tollway Board approval.
Schulman also flagged immigration‑related measures passed during the session that he characterized as largely symbolic, and he raised a proposed pension change to equalize tier 1 and tier 2 benefits that he said could impose significant ongoing costs on Hoffman Estates. He estimated the potential local impact could be in the low‑ to mid‑millions of dollars annually and described the proposal as an unfunded mandate the Northwest Municipal Conference is working to negotiate.
Trustees asked follow‑up questions about how toll increases would be implemented and asked Schulman to provide more detailed estimates of the toll impact for average commuters and the potential fiscal impact from pension legislation; Schulman agreed to provide further details and said he would raise the toll question at an upcoming Tollway meeting.
