Grocery taxes have been passed by 105 of the 224 home-rule communities in Illinois. Cities such as Peoria and Des Plaines, towns such as Normal, and villages such as Schaumburg, Palatine, and Elk Grove have all passed a 1% grocery tax. Illinois already has very high sales taxes in Cook County, where many municipalities have recently voted to adopt a grocery tax. Illinois also has the second-highest real estate taxes in the nation after New Jersey.
The Illinois Policy Institute explains:
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.
These grocery taxes, which are regressive, will help keep Illinois as the state with the nation’s highest state and local taxes for people with median incomes (although for very wealthy people, taxes are higher in California, New York City, or Hawaii).
