Illinois state officials weigh in on the removal of the grocery tax

Ill. (WTVO) — This week Governor Pritzker signed a bill putting an end to the state’s grocery tax.

Now cities and towns across the state are weighing their options in replacing their tax revenue. The statewide grocery tax will be ending at the start of 2026.

The move started back in February seeking to rid the 1% charge on people’s expenses. Some cities will miss out on $2 million a year of tax revenue from the change.

Elected officials said a lot of local governments were caught off guard.

“We didn’t know what was coming until we were well into our budget development,” said Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin. “We had already done our financial forecast.”

“At this point, there aren’t that many options,” said Marlin. “You know, you either raise revenue or cut expenses and we don’t want to do the latter.”

Local governments do have the option to impose the grocery tax on a local basis by ordinance.

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