© Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The COVID-19 virus is affecting Wisconsin travelers driving south using the Illinois Toll System. All public toll booths are being closed and drivers must use the I-pass lane and pay their tolls online, in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
CHICAGO - The days of paying cash on the Illinois Tollway are gone forever.
The tollway announced Thursday it is permanently eliminating cash toll collections and will accept only I-Pass, E-ZPass or online payments. Customers unable to pay online can pay by check or money order.
The move comes nearly a year after the tollway suspended cash tolls in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Get daily updates on the Packers during the season.
The tollway also said it will begin a program in May to help low-income drivers by waiving deposits on I-PASS transponders and adding $20 in tolls to people with household incomes up to 2? times the poverty line.
"We remain committed to helping the state's efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," tollway Executive Director José Alvarez said.
More than 92% of toll payments in 2019 used I-Pass or E-ZPass and that number has grown during the pandemic, the tollway said.
The tollway lets drivers who don't use I-Pass and E-ZPass pay within 14 days or risk a $3 fine for passenger vehicles.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Illinois Tollway permanently eliminates cash payments, so Wisconsinites should pay online or with I-PASS or E-ZPass