Lawmaker Has 2nd Thoughts About Gas Pumping Bill

Remember last week when an Illinois State Representative suggested banning self-service gas pumping? Yeah, about that...

It seems she's had a change of heart on this issue.

Tuesday night in Oak Park, State Representative Camille Y. Lilly appeared to backtrack on parts of her proposed bill that would make pumping your own gas illegal in Illinois.

It turns out that she was just trying to start a dialog on the topic.

Herald & Review:

"The bill I chose looked at bringing what I would title safety and convenience at the gas pump," Lilly said. "It had some verbiage that was not my intent at all."

The bill, which had its first reading Feb. 5, has been referred to the rules committee for review.

As currently written, HB 4571 would create the "Gas Station Attendant Act," which provides that no gas may be pumped at a gas station in the state unless it is pumped by a gas station attendant employed at the gas station.

Some in attendance felt such a law could drive up gas prices even higher as stations would likely pass along new employee expenses to consumers.

"I really believe, as we move forward in our economy and society, things often change," Lilly said. "That's how we got self-service. We thought that would be a discount for everyone pumping their own gas. Gas has been going up ever since."

Sure. That's it. Self-service comes in, gas prices have been going up ever since. Perhaps the real reason for her change of heart is that most people who called her office about it thought it was the dumbest thing that they've ever heard.