SPRINGFIELD - A Republican lawmaker proposed a three-month sales tax holiday for gasoline Wednesday aimed at easing the burden for consumers.

The proposal would suspend the state's portion of the gasoline sales tax and save motorists about 20 cents per gallon, said state Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville.

"I have people, who commute 90 miles a day and more just to go to work; and this gasoline price is literally killing them," he said. "We don't have mass transit between communities in downstate Illinois."

A gallon of gas cost Illinois motorists $2.96 on Wednesday according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The proposed tax holiday would run from May 15 to Sept. 15. Black, a Republican in a Democrat controlled General Assembly, has proposed gas tax holidays in the past. However, the measures have never gained traction in the House.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, still opposes the concept because a six-month suspension in 2000 didn't work, said Steve Brown, the legislator's spokesman.

"The price of gas did not go down. The refiners and the marketers just stuffed it in their pockets," he said. "It does no good."

A government study of the 2000 suspension could not prove whether any savings were passed on to consumers.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich acknowledged that high gas prices have become a major issue. But, beyond blaming oil companies for raking in high profits, the governor has not proposed any specific solution to the high prices.

"We're exploring a variety of different options to see if we can get some help to people quickly," he said.

The governor also continues to blame the Bush administration for high gas prices.

"What we're dealing with is issues from an administration that for six years has pandered to Big Oil," Blagojevich said.

The earliest the legislature could consider House Bill 5785 is next week.

Kurt Erickson contributed to this report.