NW Illinois News

Andrew Chesney, senator for Illinois' 45th State Senate District, has voiced concerns over a proposed bill that he claims would require residents across the state to financially support Chicago and suburban public transit systems through taxes on deliveries.

"Democrats want every Illinoisan to be on the hook to bail out massive failures within the Chicago and suburban public transit system," said Andrew S. Chesney, Illinois State Senator (R), according to Facebook. "I said "HELL NO" to a proposed $1.50 Amazon Tax, which would tax every package, every pizza, every clothing purchase, or other item delivered to doors across this state."

The bill in question, House Bill 3438, aims to establish the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act and rename several existing acts. It also proposes the creation of the Retail Delivery Climate Impact Fee Act, which would impose a $1.50 fee on qualifying retail deliveries. The bill passed the House on April 7 and the Senate on May 31. However, it was returned to the House and placed on the Calendar Order of Concurrence for Senate amendments but did not pass during the legislature’s spring session.

Screenshot of State Senator Andrew Chesney's June 2 Facebook post | State Senator Andrew Chesney's Facebook page

Chesney included a video of his floor speech opposing the bill in a Facebook post. In his speech, he expressed that initially, the transit legislation seemed unrelated to him or his district until he examined how the proposed Chicago Transit Authority bailout would be funded. "You guys want to put a tax on every Amazon package that delivers into our communities," Chesney said. "You’re gonna put a tax on Grubhub and Instacart and all these different taxes. Our people are going to wake up in our district and they’re gonna be really upset because we’re paying for your dysfunction; we’re paying for your problems. They need to fix their own crap and stay the hell out of ours."

Chesney has represented Illinois' 45th Senate District since 2022. Before this role, he represented the 89th District from December 2018 onward. He has served as an elected member of Freeport City Council and has been involved with Regional Access Mobilization Project (RAMP), an organization providing support services and advocacy for people with disabilities. He is also noted as a former mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters.