Attention shoppers: Would you like a bag for that? Answering yes to that question will cost you in Chicago next year.
That’s because the city’s new bag fee will take effect in the New Year, charging shoppers 7 cents per bag – paper or plastic – at stores across the city, including popular destinations like Target.
That means each time a store is visited without bringing a reusable paper or plastic bag, people will be charged an additional seven cents for each bag needed to pack their goods.
The 7 cents-a-bag fee was a compromise decided on when Mayor Rahm Emanuel agreed to lift the plastic bag ban in the city. It’s expected to generate roughly $13 million a year, with the city receiving about $9.2 million and the additional amount going to store merchants.
The new fee is just one of many that will cost Chicagoans in the coming year, with several costly new laws set to take effect, including a new water tax, another property tax hike and more parking meters.
