Illinois Grocery Tax: Here’s What Cities And Towns Are Paying Now

If there's one thing that state government here in Illinois really, really loves it's taxes. Property taxes, income taxes, gas taxes, and...at least for about one more year...grocery taxes.

At the moment, there are 37 states that do not extract grocery taxes from their residents, while Illinois is the only state out of the country's ten most populated states that still does take its cut from every grocery shopping trip you make.

It must have been painful for lawmakers to do it, but they've nonetheless voted to get rid of Illinois's one-percent grocery tax starting in January of 2026. That should be great for shoppers, but it won't be if local governments throughout our state decide to impose their own grocery taxes...which they are free to do, and two cities have already done it.

When Illinois' Grocery Tax Takes Its Final Bow And Ends On January 1st, 2026 Cities Are Going To Have To Learn To Do Without That Money

Think about it this way. In 2023, Illinoisans shelled out almost $300 million in grocery taxes, so that's the amount of savings that Illinois grocery shoppers should realizing once the grocery tax ends in 2026.

It's also the amount of money that Illinois cities are going to lose in revenue. Individual cities and towns in Illinois are free to institute their own grocery taxes at that time, and two Illinois cities have already voted to do it.

Martinsville, Illinois residents saw their city council vote 3-2 to replace Illinois' one-percent grocery tax with their own local tax of one-percent once the state grocery tax goes away. Same thing with Central City, Illinois. Remember, every Illinois city and town could do the same thing.

Let's Take A Look At Some Of The Grocery Tax Numbers From Individual Illinois Cities and Towns

No real surprise when it comes to which Illinois city is currently kicking out the most money in grocery taxes (at least they were in 2023): It's Chicago. Residents there shelled out $50,262,061 after filling their shopping carts last year.

Some other Illinois cities and towns, along with their grocery tax numbers from 2023 (big hat-tip and thank you to IllinoisPolicy.org):

• Rockford: $4,665,947
• Springfield: $5,435,127
• Naperville: $4,643,368
• Peoria: $4,353,298
• Joliet: $3,747,442
• Evanston: $3,540,653
• Champaign: $3,192,990
• Belvidere: $615,830
• Rockton: $94,909
• Roscoe: $372,733
• South Beloit: $96,079
• Machesney Park: $139,508
• Loves Park: $631,218
• Byron: $145,457
• Freeport: $756,734
• Rochelle: $317,202