Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed an executive order allowing farmers to use dyed diesel on state roads through the end of the year, a day after President Donald Trump signed a federal order expanding use of the same fuel.
Pritzker also issued a disaster proclamation declaring all 102 Illinois counties disaster areas for 30 days. The proclamation, signed on Oct. 6, allows him to suspend state regulations and redirect state agencies and resources to address high diesel prices and shortages.
Dyed diesel is normally limited to off-road uses such as running farm equipment, and it’s exempt from the taxes charged on fuel sold for road use.
Under the order, the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Illinois State Police will not penalize anyone who sells or uses dyed diesel from bulk storage on highways and state roads for farming through Dec. 31. The revenue department will issue guidance on which uses qualify and what records farmers need to keep.
The order also directs the revenue department to request federal penalty relief from the IRS for highway use of dyed diesel, citing the president’s Oct. 5 order.
Trump’s order, which he signed at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, temporarily allows dyed diesel to be used on roads nationwide, sparing users the federal tax of 24.4 cents a gallon. Trump said the change could save truckers about $100 per fill-up.
The executive order also directs the Treasury Department to review federal diesel taxes for potential savings and the Transportation Department to negotiate with states on temporarily waiving their road diesel taxes.
Together, the two orders allow Illinois farmers to run dyed diesel on the road without state or federal penalties through the end of the year.
Some states acted before either order. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, declared a state emergency on Sept. 24 and signed two orders to lower fuel costs for harvesting and hauling.
Pritzker’s order also directs the Illinois Department of Transportation to consider extending the Illinois Harvest Permit program into 2027 if the shortage continues. The free program normally runs from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31 and allows heavier trucks on certain routes during harvest.
Pritzker, a Democrat, blamed the federal government for the price spike. His order is titled “Executive Order to Respond to Diesel Fuel Crisis Caused by Trump’s Iran War.”
“Donald Trump’s disastrous tariffs and war of choice in Iran is costing Illinois farmers their livelihoods,” Pritzker said in a statement. He said the order would give farmers “real relief from skyrocketing diesel prices.”
The order cites the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) finding that the conflict has sharply reduced the oil supply available to global markets. It also cites the agency’s projection that U.S. diesel and other distillate fuel stocks will stay below their five-year low through much of 2027. It says farmers also face lost income due to cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which recipients use to buy locally grown food.
Pritzker’s press release announcing the order did not mention Trump’s federal action.
Trump has offered a different explanation for high fuel prices. In an Oct. 5 post on Truth Social, he said the main driver is no longer the Strait of Hormuz. He blamed Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries and refinery closures in Democratic-led states such as California. He said on Oct. 6 that oil is moving through the strait at or above prewar levels, and that he is considering suspending the federal gas tax.
The EIA said in an Oct. 6 analysis that several factors pushed up oil prices in September. It cited attacks on tankers by both the United States and Iran, the U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports, attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, and Ukrainian drone strikes on a major Russian oil terminal.
Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II said diesel prices affect nearly every part of farming, from running machinery and drying grain to hauling crops to market.
Illinois is the third-largest agricultural exporting state in the country. It exported $11.1 billion in farm products in 2024, including $4 billion in soybeans, the most of any state.
Tom Gantert and Travis Gillmore contributed to this report.
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