105 Illinois towns pass grocery taxes. Did yours?
Many Illinois towns are rushing to extend the 1% grocery tax. See below if your town is one of them. The statewide tax ends in 2026, but local governments can choose to retain it without asking their residents for permission.
The state may have backed off on taxing groceries, but 105 Illinois towns have already chosen to take up the 1% grocery tax once the statewide tax ends in 2026, according to data from the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The rest of the state can expect to see 1% savings at the grocery store.
The map below shows which towns will begin taxing groceries in 2026, but the list will only get longer unless residents show they are opposed to taxing their unavoidable need to eat.
Even if a town isn’t on the map, it could end up there – communities have until October 2025 to decide whether to keep or kill the 1% tax on everyday grocery items.
The grocery tax is currently statewide, but the revenue collected goes exclusively to local governments. In ending the tax, Gov. J.B. Pritzker put pressure on local leaders to cut spending or raise taxes on their residents. Some are letting the grocery tax expire, but many are not.
Bensenville let voters decide the tax’s fate in a ballot question on which 90% voted “no” on retaining the tax. Local leaders should at the very least think about how they could save money in their budgets before passing a regressive grocery tax that hits hardest on those least able to afford it.
Grocery shoppers around the state saved $360 million the year state leaders suspended the tax as a way to combat rampant inflation. That was just over $28 per Illinoisan, meaning a family of four could save about $113 a year on food, depending on where they live.
If now isn’t the time to give people the savings, then it never will be. Three states recently dropped their grocery taxes, making Illinois one of only 10 states still imposing a grocery tax.
Communities can choose to tax their residents on the need to eat. Or they can give their retailers a competitive advantage by taxing 1% less than some tax-hungry neighbors.