Lemont adopts ordinance to replace state grocery tax to preserve about $400,000–$500,000 for services

The Lemont Village Board voted to adopt Ordinance O-41-25 to implement a municipal grocery retailers occupation tax and a municipal grocers' service occupation tax, a local replacement for a state 1% grocery tax that recent state legislation is repealing effective Jan. 1, 2026. The ordinance passed on a roll-call vote after trustees discussed the revenue impact and legal mechanics of the change.

Village officials told the board the state-collected 1% grocery tax has provided roughly $400,000 annually to Lemont in recent years and that number may be closer to $500,000 now. Staff said the state law gives municipalities authority to replace the lost revenue with a locally implemented tax so the village can continue to fund police, public-safety services, public works and infrastructure.

A village staff member summarized the policy point to trustees: "There is no additional tax. It's the same amount of tax that you're currently paying," and explained that under the state law the tax will still be collected by the state but reported and remitted in a different way so the village continues to receive the revenue it has historically received. Officials emphasized the ordinance must be enacted and recorded by October to allow a seamless transition so the replacement tax can be collected beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

Trustees and staff said the replacement tax is intended to avoid a near-half-million-dollar hit to the general fund that would otherwise force reductions in police and public-works services. The motion was offered by Trustee Snagowski and seconded by Trustee Forsley; roll-call voting recorded all members present in favor and the ordinance was approved.