How Much Do Tolls Cost in Illinois? Rates, I-PASS, and Penalties

Tolls in Illinois cost as little as $0.20 and as much as $1.90 per plaza for a passenger vehicle with an I-PASS or E-ZPass transponder, and exactly double that at every plaza for drivers who pay without one. The total for any trip depends on how many plazas you pass through on the 294-mile Illinois Tollway network, which runs across the Chicago area and west toward Rockford and Dixon.¹

What Passenger Vehicles Pay

Cars, SUVs, motorcycles, and taxis are Tier 1 vehicles: two axles, four or fewer tires. The transponder rate is the base rate. The Pay Online rate, charged to anyone using Pay By Plate or paying after the trip, is exactly twice the transponder rate at every plaza on the system.¹

A sample of I-PASS rates across the system, with the Pay Online rate in parentheses:

South Beloit (Plaza 1, I-90): $0.95 ($1.90)
Belvidere (Plaza 5, I-90): $1.50 ($3.00)
Waukegan (Plaza 21, I-294): $1.40 ($2.80)
Markham Mainline (Plaza 41, I-294): $0.75 ($1.50)
Aurora Mainline (Plaza 61, I-88): $0.75 ($1.50)
Spring Creek Mainline (Plaza 99, I-355): $1.90 ($3.80)
Lively Blvd (Plaza 320, IL-390): $0.20 ($0.40)¹

Trip cost scales with plaza count. A short hop between neighboring exits might hit only one or two plazas. Driving the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) from the Wisconsin border into Chicago’s northwest side passes through more than 20. The Tollway’s online Trip Planner will calculate an exact figure for a specific origin and destination.¹

On a per-mile basis, I-PASS holders currently pay an average of about 7 cents per mile across the system.²

What Trucks and Commercial Vehicles Pay

Commercial rates run several times higher than passenger rates and vary by size and time of day. The Tollway sorts commercial vehicles into three tiers by axle count: small (two axles, six tires, including single-unit trucks and buses), medium (three or four axles), and large (five or more axles). Daytime hours run from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; overnight hours from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. carry substantially lower rates.¹

Sample commercial I-PASS rates at mainline plazas (small / medium / large):

South Beloit (Plaza 1): $4.05 / $6.00 / $10.60 daytime; $2.65 / $4.65 / $7.95 overnight
Waukegan (Plaza 21): $6.00 / $9.00 / $15.90 daytime; $4.05 / $7.00 / $11.95 overnight
DeKalb Mainline (Plaza 66): $7.60 / $11.30 / $20.10 daytime; $5.10 / $8.85 / $15.15 overnight¹

On January 1, 2025, the Tollway raised rates specifically for trucks and vehicles with trailers. Passenger vehicle rates did not change at that time.¹

How To Cut Your Bill In Half

The single largest factor in what you pay is whether you have a transponder. I-PASS and E-ZPass users get a 50% discount against the Pay Online rate at every plaza.³ The Illinois Tollway is entirely cashless, so drivers without a transponder can only pay through Pay By Plate at the higher rate.

E-ZPass transponders issued by any of the 19 states in the E-ZPass network work on the Illinois Tollway and get the same discount as I-PASS. An I-PASS transponder likewise works on E-ZPass toll roads across the eastern United States.³

Getting an I-PASS Sticker Tag

The current form of I-PASS is a small adhesive sticker tag that mounts permanently on the windshield and needs no batteries. It is free when ordered online at getipass.com or picked up at an Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center. Sticker tags sold at Jewel-Osco or RoadRanger stores carry a retail service fee. Each tag is linked to a single vehicle and is not transferable.³⁴ Drivers with a working older-style transponder can keep using it; the Tollway has extended all transponder deadlines by two years and says it will notify customers by mail when it is time to switch.

I-PASS Assist for Lower-Income Drivers

I-PASS Assist cuts the I-PASS rate in half again, an additional 50% off, for households at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. For 2026, that threshold is $39,125 for a single person, $66,625 for a household of three, and $80,375 for a household of four. Participants get a free transponder, no deposit requirement, and can open an account with as little as $4.⁵

Paying Without a Transponder

If you drive the tollway without an I-PASS or E-ZPass, you need to register your license plate and a credit card with the Pay By Plate system within 14 days of the trip to avoid fines and fees. Pay By Plate charges the Pay Online rate, which is double the I-PASS rate for passenger vehicles. The system bills the registered card twice per week, and tolls can take up to 30 days to appear on the account.⁶

One boundary worth knowing: Pay By Plate works only on the Illinois Tollway. It does not cover the Chicago Skyway or toll roads in other states.⁶

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

A missed toll is fixable, but the fees stack up on a set schedule:

Within 14 days: pay through Pay By Plate with no extra charge.
After 30 days: an invoice arrives with a $3 fee per unpaid toll for passenger vehicles, or $5 to $15 for commercial vehicles.
60 and 90 days: additional invoices, with fees continuing to accrue.
After 120 days: a formal Notice of Violation adds a $20 fine per unpaid toll.
After 180 days: the account is sent to collections.⁷

Total fines are capped at $20 on top of the toll and invoice fees. The Tollway no longer issues the escalated $50 fines that were previously part of the system.⁸ Drivers who qualify for I-PASS Assist may have invoice fees dismissed if they set up an account.⁷

One consequence no longer applies. Since July 2020, Illinois law prohibits the suspension of driver’s licenses or vehicle registrations for unpaid tollway violations.⁹

The 45-Cent Increase Proposed For 2027

Passenger vehicle rates have not gone up since January 1, 2012, when a typical mainline I-PASS toll rose from $0.40 to $0.75 to fund the $15 billion “Move Illinois” program.¹⁰ That is likely to change.

In December 2025, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act (SB 2111), which authorizes the Tollway to raise passenger vehicle tolls by 45 cents per plaza and commercial vehicle tolls by 30%. The revenue is meant to offset motor-fuel tax and road-fund dollars being redirected to Chicago-area transit under the same law, and is projected to bring in $750 million to $1 billion annually.¹¹¹²

The Tollway board has proposed putting the increase in place on January 1, 2027, as part of a new 15-year, $26.5 billion capital program called “Driving Connections.” If approved, the average I-PASS cost per mile would rise from about 7 cents to roughly 11 cents, which the Tollway says is still below the national weighted average of about 13 cents per mile.² The legislation also permits automatic toll adjustments every two years starting in 2029, tied to the Consumer Price Index and capped at 4% annually. Those future increases would not require separate board votes or public hearings.¹¹

The Tollway is holding 13 public hearings across its 12-county service area in July 2026, from July 13 through July 24. Public comments are accepted until noon on August 3, 2026, and a final board vote could come as soon as August 19, 2026.¹³²

1
Illinois Tollway. Toll Rates
2
Daily Herald. Toll Hike Coming: Board Approves Hearings on Potential 45-Cent Spike Per Toll
3
Illinois Tollway. About I-PASS
4
NBC Chicago. How To Get Your I-PASS Sticker Tag
5
Illinois Tollway. I-PASS Assist
6
Illinois Tollway. Pay By Plate
7
Chicago Tribune. Tollway To Resume Issuing Fines for Drivers With Unpaid Tolls
8
Illinois Tollway. Unpaid Illinois Tollway Toll Invoices Will Result in Violation Notices
9
NPR Illinois. Illinois Ends License Suspension for Non-Moving Violations
10
Illinois Virtual Tollway. 2023 Annual Toll Revenue Report
11
NBC Chicago. Illinois Toll Hikes One Step Closer to Reality After Pritzker Signs Transit Funding Bill
12
Illinois Society of Architects/Engineers Council of Illinois. Governor Pritzker Signs Sweeping Transit Overhaul and Funding Package Into Law
13
Illinois Tollway. Driving Connections