SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Democrats who control the state budget have reached an agreement on next year’s spending plan. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the deal Thursday afternoon. It includes $1.8 billion in tax relief, including a freeze on an automatic motor fuel tax increase. It’s mostly the result of higher-than-expected revenue. But even with the extra cash, the tax break relies in part on money from a different account. Because freezing the motor fuel tax would cost the road fund $135 million, officials would divert $140 million from an account set up to clean up environmental hazards caused by leaking underground fuel storage tanks. But petroleum and other retailers note that the state already owes at least $900 million from the tank fund to reimburse completed or ongoing cleanups.
