Illinois raising license plate fees, strip club charges

SPRINGFIELD — The cost of a license plate in Illinois will rise by $2 on Jan. 1 to help pay for upgrades to Illinois' cash-strapped state park system.

The increase, which will boost the annual plate renewal fee to $101, is among more than 150 new state laws taking effect in the new year, ranging from a new surcharge on people going to strip clubs to new rules for Illinoisans who enjoy inline roller skating.

The license plate fee is expected generate about $32 million annually to help pay for new roads, sewers, roofs and other facilities overseen by the state Department of Natural Resources, or DNR.

Despite serving as a tourism draw for the state, the state park system has seen its budget slashed in recent years. Rather than ask individual park-goers to pay entrance fees, lawmakers decided it would be more palatable to tack a fee onto the license plate sticker cost.

“Cuts to the DNR's budget and specifically our land management office over the last decade have left our state parks short-staffed and buried under $750 million in deferred maintenance projects. This funding will allow us to hire more staff and begin to fix aging infrastructure within our state parks system,” DNR director Marc Miller said.

That's not the only new state tax going into effect with the beginning of the new year on Tuesday.

Operators at Illinois' adult entertainment facilities will have the option to either charge a $3 entry fee or pay an annual flat amount to help the state fund sexual assault programs.

The so-called “stripper tax” or “pole tax” was championed by Sen. Toi Hutchinson,

D-Olympia Fields, and Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, a Democrat, as a way to raise money for programs that have seen their funding reduced in recent years.

Operators will not have to ante up for the additional taxes until January 2014. If they decide to pay the annual fee, it will range from $5,000 to $25,000, depending upon the size of their operation.

qctimes.com