Gov. Pritzker: Inflation key to pressing tax relief now

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Last spring, Gov. J.B. Pritzker touted a tourism campaign encouraging motorists to see the state by highway, eschewing concerns that gas cost well above $3 per gallon.

“I hope everybody will get out this summer and drive,” the Democrat said, when asked whether high fuel prices would preclude or shorten many road trips.

On Tuesday, with gas still more than $3 a gallon, Pritzker stopped in Springfield to promote his plan to curb inflation by halting an automatic 2.2-cent increase in the motor fuel tax, along with suspending for a year the 1% sales tax on groceries and offering a property tax rebate of up to $300.

Asked what changed since last year, Pritzker said, “Here we are in a very unusual situation."