Peoria Heights board overturns mayoral veto, moves ahead with proposed grocery tax and advisory ballot option

The Peoria Heights Board voted to overturn Mayor Matt Wigington’s veto and approved Ordinance 2025‑1770 to implement a municipal grocery tax, setting the village on the path to file with the Illinois Department of Revenue. Trustees also discussed asking voters an advisory question on the March 17 primary ballot.

The board debated whether to enact the tax immediately or to place a non‑binding advisory question before voters. Board members noted tight statutory deadlines for placing advisory questions on the primary ballot (a December 29 deadline for the board to adopt the advisory resolution and an early January submission deadline to the county election authority). Several trustees favored asking the voters for guidance and preserving the option to rescind or alter the ordinance depending on the advisory result.

A roll-call vote recorded at the meeting overturned the mayor’s veto and approved the ordinance; the clerk’s roll call is recorded in the meeting transcript. After the vote trustees agreed to place a question on the next agenda clarifying the ballot language for an advisory referendum so it could be submitted before election deadlines if the board chooses to proceed.

What this means: If the record and filing deadlines are met, the local grocery tax could take effect on July 1 (the board discussed filing windows for January 1 and July 1 implementation), and the village will use the advisory process to gauge resident sentiment before final implementation. The board emphasized that filing deadlines determine the effective date and that a local ballot question would not itself be binding but would guide the trustees’ policy choice.