Peoria Heights’ mayor vetoed a grocery tax, saying the village would not balance its budget on the backs of families at the grocery checkout. Now Chicago is considering taking $73.5 million through the tax.
Peoria Heights’ mayor just took a stand against the 1% grocery tax, vetoing a decision by his village board to impose it as other communities consider the tax ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline to keep it flowing without interruption.
Chicago leaders are expected to vote soon on using the tax to add $73.5 million to Chicagoans’ food bills next year.
Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton announced his veto Sept. 12 after his village board approved the tax 5-1 on Sept. 2. Board members were worried about losing the $125,000 a year generated by the tax on residents’ groceries.
“Make no mistake, a grocery tax is a regressive tax. It takes a larger share of income from working families, seniors with fixed incomes and those living paycheck to paycheck,” Wigginton wrote on Facebook. “With this mayoral veto, groceries in Peoria Heights will be less expensive for our citizens. We will also have a competitive advantage in enticing new grocers to our community – something I am actively pursuing. I’ve reviewed numbers from Illinois Policy and I know we can and we will balance our budget without balancing it off the backs of families at the grocery checkout.”
As of Sept. 11, 522 of Illinois’ roughly 1,300 communities had decided to keep the tax when the statewide collection expires at the end of 2025. The Illinois Department of Revenue asked communities to notify it by Oct. 1 if they want to keep the tax income flowing without interruption, but communities can impose the 1% tax after that deadline.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last year approved ending the statewide collection on Dec. 31, 2025, but the change in state law allowed municipalities to reinstate the tax without asking voters. The tax in 2023 collected about $300 million, which was then returned to local municipalities.
Chicago is expected to decide about the tax at its Sept. 25 meeting.
The tax generated $50 million for Chicago in 2023, but the city estimates that will grow to $73.5 million in 2026. The city is facing a $146 million deficit this year and projects a $1.15 billion deficit in 2026.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has argued because the grocery tax is already in place, Chicagoans won’t notice its continuation. Chicago’s poverty rate is nearly 17%, compared with the national average of 11%, raising concerns about the equity of continuing the tax.
When residents have been asked about government taxing their need to eat, they overwhelmingly have said grocery taxes should end. In Bensenville, 90% of voters opposed the tax in a recent advisory referendum. A 2023 poll by the Illinois Policy Institute found more than 70% of Illinoisans wanted the tax to expire.