Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Pushes 'Grocery Tax'
Chicago is facing a massive budget gap, and its mayor has a possible solution.
But it's not one that's sitting well with all retailers.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants "to reinstate a 1% grocery tax" in Chicago, according to Fox 32. Johnson's push for the tax came after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker eliminated it in the state budget, the television station reported.
The Chicago Tribune also reported that Johnson "is pushing aldermen to add a city grocery tax in Chicago as the long-established state grocery levy expires."
The grocery tax would bring in about $80 million for the city's 2026 budget, The Tribune reported.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the push came from "top mayoral aides" to alderpeople.
Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski and Budget Director Annette Guzman spoke to alderpeople at a revenue subcommittee and told them that Chicago needs "a local version of the state-eliminated 1% grocery tax," the Sun-Times reported.
They also said that, in order to close a $1.12 billion budget gap, the City of Chicago "needs a sales tax on professional services" and "a greater share of state income and personal property replacement taxes," the Sun-Times reported.
According to Fox 32, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) is concerned about a grocery tax for Chicagoans.
"The message is that they have to consider the consumer," said Rob Karr the president and CEO of IRMA to Fox 32.
"The retailer considers the consumer every day. Grocery, as you know, is one of the most narrow profit margins of all the industries that are out there, but particularly in retail. And so they really have no place else to go with this. That's something that has to get passed on to the consumer, so it really comes down, again to are the city leaders, is the mayor and the city council willing to impose to yet another financial pressure on their consumers?" he added.Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Pushes 'Grocery Tax' first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 6, 2025
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