Trustees call for resident education as grocery tax shift lands on municipalities

Trustee Lisa Gutierrez said the village must be prepared to educate residents if the municipality adopts a local grocery tax to replace state-level revenue that was reduced or canceled.

“If this passes, it’s so important that we are ready to inform our residents,” Trustee Lisa Gutierrez said during trustee reports, asking whether staff could provide an educational component via social media or other channels.

Trustee Ford criticized the Illinois General Assembly’s handling of the measure, saying he was “disappointed” that the legislature cancelled a state-level grocery tax but left the responsibility and political optics of adopting replacement revenue to local governments.

Trustee Alba echoed concerns about state actions and suggested that, if the state transfers the tax burden to municipalities, it could compensate local governments through Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) allocations — a point framed as an appeal for “honorable behavior” by state leaders.

Why it matters: Trustees said public misinformation about the grocery tax has circulated and that residents will need clear, local explanations about what a municipal adoption would — or would not — change for households. No formal decision or ordinance was made during the meeting to adopt a local tax; trustees discussed outreach and the political implications of the state’s action.

Meeting context: The board discussed the grocery tax during trustee reports; the matter remains at the discussion and education stage at the village level with no formal vote recorded at this meeting.