Gov. Ryan asserts that he is responding to public sentiment about eliminating the tollways and providing oversight but his plan calls for massive increases in tolls, the building of new roads, and no accountability of the authority. Gov. Ryan's plan to increase cash tolls to 75 cents in October and to 95 cents in 2003 contradicts the governor's previously stated opposition to toll increases. The increased revenue will not be allocated to repairing existing toll roads from where the toll is collected, but will fund the costly I-355 extension. This plan is like proposing to build an addition to a home when the roof is leaking, the pipes are frozen and mortgage payments are due. The toll authority is unaccountable to the General Assembly for its budget.
Taxpayers are subject to taxation without representation.
There is no assurance that the next administration will have a commitment to dismantling the tolls or merging the toll authority with IDOT, yet tolls across the board will rise. Americans have not avoided most of the historical evils that befell Europeans before them. But in contrast to Europeans, Americans have freed themselves from most of those evils on their own. What he is saying is that while we suffer social ills and intolerance in our nation, we seem to be able to rally around a correction without the usual wars, invasions and suppression experienced in other cultures. Intolerance cannot be tolerated in our society.