ROCKFORD, IL — Joining at least 264 other Illinois cities and villages that have voted to keep it, Rockford and Loves Park will continue charging a 1% sales tax on groceries next year.
Members of the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. JB Pritzker eliminated a statewide tax on groceries as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget. It had been in place for more than three decades, providing a significant funding source designated for municipalities.
The tax collected about $360 million annually from Illinois grocery shoppers and redistributed the money back to communities across the state. But as part of the tax’s elimination, state elected officials gave individual cities, including non-home rule municipalities, the authority to continue charging the tax without a referendum.
Rockford receives as much as $8 million a year from the state’s grocery tax. Without action, that money was set to go away starting in January 2026.
Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara had argued it would be impossible to cut that kind of revenue from the city’s budget without gutting essential city services.
Officials said it would have been like losing the revenue needed to pay for 57 city employees. It would amount to the budget for mayor’s office, City Council, legal department, finance department and human resources department combined.
And McNamara pointed out that although the tax is portrayed as regressive, the poorest residents don’t typically pay it. An estimated 25% of Winnebago County residents qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Those residents are exempt from the grocery tax.
Loves Park Mayor Greg Jury previously said the grocery tax which generates about $600,000 annually in Loves Park is a critical funding source in part because Loves Park does not have a property tax.
Councils in both cities voted July 7 to adopt a municipal 1% sales tax on groceries that would kick in as soon as the statewide tax expired.
Machesney Park has approved a first reading of a measure that would continue the grocery tax.
Belvidere will consider a similar measure in coming weeks.
Roscoe recently decided to end the tax, according to published reports.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford, Loves Park will impose 1% tax on groceries when statewide tax expires in 2026
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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