GAS TAX, TOBACCO DEAL AMONG RYAN'S PLAN FOR PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Raising the state's gasoline tax and digging into Illinois' much-anticipated share of a national tobacco settlement are options that should be considered to pay for a major public works initiative, according to a task force report submitted to Gov. George Ryan Saturday, a source said.

The report from the Ryan-appointed citizen group outlines the billions of dollars in needs identified after months of work, but it makes no recommendations on the size of a program or the means to pay for it, said the source, who helped prepare the document.

Ryan spokesman Dave Urbanek said the report will be released Tuesday, when the governor will tell lawmakers his plans for dealing with the infrastructure problems before the Legislature finishes its spring session.

Ryan was still "zeroing in" Saturday on exactly how much he wants to push and how he wants to pay for it, Urbanek said, adding there are many details to cover to ensure the program will meet the needs.

"The governor is not limited to these options (in the report)," he added, without being more specific.

From 40 to 50 different funding ideas were presented to the task force, but the vast majority, such as an increase in the state income tax, were deemed politically unrealistic.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said neither the governor nor his staff participated in putting the list together.

Increasing the gas tax or tapping the tobacco settlement would be controversial options with some of the key players at the Statehouse.

Ryan campaigned against raising the state's fuel taxes last year, and his spokesmen and budget director have repeatedly said in recent days that he continues to oppose the idea.

"There are some legislators who'd support it and some business groups," the source said. "It's also tied to usage: the more you use, the more you pay."

Lawmakers last raised fuel taxes in 1989. For every penny increase in the gasoline tax, the treasury could raise about $55 million.

The report does not suggest considering raising the 21.5 cents-per-gallon tax on diesel fuel, which has not been increased in a decade, the source said.

It also might prove difficult to tap the state's share of the national tobacco settlement, expected to be more than $300 million dollars per year.

Legislative leaders in both the House and Senate have questioned whether they can rely on the settlement dollars which are still the target of pending lawsuits. Other lawmakers say tobacco settlement money should not be used for anything except health care.

Ryan has met privately with legislative leaders to discuss the potential size of a program, with most of the focus on a $12 billion proposal but some talk about an $8 billion effort.

"We don't say, `Do a program of a particular size,"' the source said, explaining the report simply tells Ryan that the figure is around $12 billion or $14 billion.

Roads, bridges and mass transit comprise up to about two-thirds of the identified needs in the report, the source said.

Other needs take in the "brick and mortar" requirements of schools, as well as demands for clean drinking water, sewage treatment plants, and restoring polluted factory sites, commonly known as "brownfields," the source said.

Whatever the spending, it would be beyond that envisioned in Ryan's $40 billion state government budget for the upcoming fiscal year, or the state Transportation Department's current five-year, $6.7 billion road-and-bridge plan.