This whole plan was pushed by a small special interest group, the largest 15-20 outfitters in the state. The prevailing attitude was leave prices alone.

"The world changes constantly, that is the sad truth.
In 1978 I bought my first brand new 4WD pickup truck for $6000.00
In 2003 I bought my latest new 4WD pickup truck for...$41,000.00 "

This is the sad attitude I hate to see any hunters take. You cannot compare the typical inflation rate to what these deer tags are doing. Besides that, a typical pickup from 2003 has way more technology and basic features than one from the 70's! That is really a bad comparison. This rate increase blows away any inflation rate. We are talking about a 1,000% increase over the last 15 years. This is taking the sport to a completely different market strategy, to one operating entirely on a supply/demand basis. What sucks is that this is precisely how hunting was transformed in Europe, where now only the wealthy hunt. Other states will penalize Illinois residents. This propogates the screw one another attitude, and promotes an isolationist economy. All of us hunters lose. To pass it off as inevitable is truly negative. Write your legislators and complain. Don't let this happen in your state because what goes around, comes around. It benefits none of us. That is not an opinion, it is a fact.