The distance from the sign will be the same, but the price for McHenry County residents will double.

The preferred routes to southeastern McHenry County may change for cheapskates like me when they drive to and from Chicago.

That’s because the Pat Quinn Administration’s tolls at the Route 31 Exit will almost double from 40 cents to 75 cents, if one goes all the way to Randall Road, as we usually do.

80 cents to get from Chicago to Crystal Lake under Governor Rod Blagojevich’s tolls…if one rented an I-PASS.  (I consider interest on the mandatory deposit “rent.”)

$1.50 under Blagojevich successor Pat Quinn.

Tolls at Barrington Road, however, will “only” be 45 cents. It’s now 25 cents now, so I could save 20 cents a trip.

There the increase is only a 44% one, not 88%.

Since 45 cents is less than 75 cents, that’s the exit I’ll be taking.

For regular commuters, the savings would be about $80 a year for driving through Barrington Hills on Route 62, also known as Algonquin Road.

When the Skinner family drives to the Wisconsin Dells, we’ll drive up Route 14 to Harvard and across to the Wisconsin freeway.

That will save $2.45 both ways using I-PASS, assuming we would otherwise enter on at Route 20 south of Marengo, as we often have, and assuming I’m reading the doubled fee structure correctly.

Miss the South Beloit Illinois Toll Booths and keep enough money to buy half a glass of Wine in the Wisconsin Dells.

Enough for another glass of wine…which is better than whining about the rip-off we call the Illinois Tollway.

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It’s hard to think about the Illinois Tollways without remembering that none of the Motor Fuel Taxes charged by state government go to defray toll taxes. Instead the approximately $110 million a year in MFT is diverted to state highway purposes.

Somewhere in the vicinity of 45% comes back to the six-county Chicagoland, while it has about 56% of the vehicles and traffic.

Obviously, a Downstate rip-off.

It also should be remembered that local Republican leaders did not oppose the Toll Tax hike. It was hard to find Republican opposition anywhere…except yours truly.