Eye On Illinois: When politically convenient, governor invites local control

The statewide grocery tax may be going away, but it won’t disappear in silence.

Last week, Gov. JB Pritzker announced plans to repeal the state’s 1% tax on grocery items. As discussed here last Saturday, sharp pushback followed from groups like the Illinois Municipal League because the state disburses 100% of that tax to local governments. When lawmakers suspended the grocery tax in 2023, the state still paid municipalities $400 million to cover the gap.

This time around, Pritzker wants the tax gone entirely. When pressed on the topic at a public event Wednesday, the governor said he’s “not willing to reconsider” the elimination and reiterated that any elimination of the statewide grocery tax would provide local governments the legal means to enact their own replacement.

And that’s how a government issue becomes political. Pritzker calls the grocery tax regressive (applied equally regardless of a shopper’s wealth) and wants credit for eliminating it and putting money back in people’s pockets. The local governments want (or, to be fair, need) the money, but those elected officials perceive the difficulty of approving a “new” tax.

To the individual person, this isn’t a ton of cash. The state reimbursed locals $400 million. With 12.5 million Illinoisans, that’s $32 per person – 62 cents per week. But to the politician, it’s a big deal. “We eliminated the grocery tax” is a winning message. “We’re adding a grocery tax just at the stores in our corporate limit” is a loser, because most voters aren’t waiting around for the explanation that it’s not a new tax but a replacement so they’re spending the same while the money gets routed differently.

Local governments have other ways to replace the revenue, most of which require making the case to the public.

“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Pritzker said. “I wouldn’t do it locally. Having said that, I understand the need for the dollars and if they feel like they need them, they should think about imposing that tax on their own.”

Pritzker’s local control record is spotty, but he’s inviting it here: If you want the money, you levy the tax.

TRANSPARENCY: “Local election authorities must perform a public test of the voting equipment at least five days prior to each election,” according to a State Board of Elections social media post Wednesday. “This test is open to representatives of the political parties, the State Board of Elections and the public. If you feel unsure of the voting equipment used in your jurisdiction, or just want to know more about it, we encourage you to attend the public test before the upcoming election so you can see up close and in person how everything works.”

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.