In America we have state and federal fuel taxes (per gallon) collected at the pump. Almost all of the federal tax is sent back to the states in the form of int

In America we have state and federal fuel taxes (per gallon) collected at the pump. Almost all of the federal tax is sent back to the states in the form of interstate highway money (and is used as a carrot/whip to impose federal regulations on states). In Illinois' case the fuel tax is supposed to go to maintaining and improving roads but, like any big pot of money, it is frequently diverted to the general fund and/or maintaining Chicago's transit system (much to the chagrin of the rest of the citizens of the state). At this point unmaintained roads are the least of Illinois' concerns. The state has massively underfunded state pensions combined with a fleeing and aging population that probably means some for of bankruptcy protection in the not so distant future. Before that happens all available money will be used to fund pension payouts due to how politics works in Illinois and the roads will start looking like a set of a Mad Max movie. Source: I was born and raised in Illinois (~40 miles from Galesburg) and most of my family still lives there.