
The state of Illinois will sunset its grocery tax on Jan. 1, but another Chicago suburb will implement one to replace it.
During its board meeting on Monday, Carol Stream officials approved a new 1% grocery tax that will go into effect on Jan. 1, the same date that the state’s grocery tax will expire.
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The state’s grocery tax was eliminated when lawmakers passed their Fiscal Year 2025 budget last spring, but so-called “home-rule” communities were given the ability to implement their own as a way of preventing the loss of revenues that the tax generated.
Those grocery tax revenues went into local coffers, and many communities are aiming to keep that revenue stream in place by implementing their own taxes.
Several other major communities around the state have approved 1% grocery taxes, including Peoria and Normal, according to the Peoria Journal-Star.
Palatine and Buffalo Grove are among the Chicago suburbs that have already approved the grocery taxes, according to the Daily Herald, as has Schaumburg.
Champaign took a different approach, raising its overall sales tax to help offset the loss of revenue, according to WTTW.
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The city of Chicago has not implemented a replacement grocery tax, and its unclear whether they will do so.
According to the Illinois Municipal League, there are a total of 224 home-rule communities in the state. Those communities, which either have more than 25,000 residents or who have approved home-rule referendums, have broader authority to levy new taxes than non-home rule communities, according to the league.
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According to reporting by the Daily Herald, communities have until Oct. 1 to approve new grocery taxes to avoid an interruption in revenue collection.