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Public commenter urges Saint Charles to let grocery tax expire, cites $2 million impact
Summary
At the May 5 Saint Charles City Council meeting a former St. Charles student and Illinois Policy Institute staffer urged councilors to allow the city’s grocery tax to expire, saying it would save local shoppers about $2 million collectively and about $55 per person annually.
Dylan Sharkey, a St. Charles native and assistant editor at the Illinois Policy Institute who now lives in Chicago, urged the Saint Charles City Council to let the city's grocery tax expire during public comment at the Monday, May 5 meeting.
"Taxing groceries is unheard of in a state like Illinois," Sharkey said. He said ending the tax in Saint Charles would amount to about $2,000,000 in savings at the grocery store for the city and, with a population he described as "32,000 ish," would average about $55 per person a year and "more than $200 for a family of 4 every year." He also said grocery prices are up about 25% since 2020 and argued the tax takes more out of families' budgets now than in the past.
Sharkey said removing the tax could give Saint Charles a competitive advantage over nearby towns, saying families in Geneva, Batavia and West Chicago could save roughly $200 a year by shopping in Saint Charles if the tax expires. He also referenced La Huerta as one of the family-owned grocery stores on Randall Road.
He noted a decision timeline to the council: "You have until October to make a decision," and urged councilors to "give people a break on groceries right now." The transcript records his comments as part of the public-comment period; the council did not take action on the grocery tax during the meeting.
