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Council debates whether to keep local share of expiring grocery tax; no action taken
Summary
Councilors heard that the statewide 1% grocery tax will expire Jan. 1, 2026; municipalities that want to retain local revenue must file with the Illinois Department of Revenue by Oct. 1. Commissioners agreed to research further and deferred action.
Councilors discussed whether Oglesby should preserve a local share of the statewide 1% sales tax on groceries, which state law will change on Jan. 1, 2026.
Commissioner Cullen (S2) briefed the council that the state’s 1% tax on groceries will be going away Jan. 1 and that municipalities wishing to keep the local portion must file an ordinance with the Illinois Department of Revenue by Oct. 1, 2025. "My recommendation is to actually, hold off on that," Cullen said, adding that the city’s sales-tax receipts were "about $82,000" ahead of last year at the time of the meeting.
Staff noted there is time to act before the Oct. 1 filing deadline and that if the council needed to adopt an ordinance it must appear on an agenda for formal approval. Several commissioners said they preferred to delay and research the fiscal impact before committing to assessing the tax locally; others said holding the tax could give the city a small revenue source if a significant grocery store opened in town.
No ordinance was filed or adopted at the meeting and councilors said they would return to the issue after additional review.
