ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — During Gov. J.B. Pritzker's budget address in February, he called for removing Illinois' 1% grocery tax to help families impacted by increasing prices.
State Sen. Andrew Chesney, R- Freeport, says removing the tax would benefit many.
"We certainly welcome the elimination of a grocery tax," Chesney said. "It is a regressive tax that hits the most vulnerable the worst. Anytime you can give somebody their money back and lower the cost of living, we will always see it as a positive."
While it could help many Illinois families, Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms is raising his concerns.
"Losing that tax would mean we lose about a million dollars," Thoms said. "We need to try to lower groceries and make it affordable for everyone. We understand that and we wish we could accommodate that but unfortunately, the City of Rock Island has a tight budget and we cannot afford to give up the money."
He says without the money, they would look into alternatives.
"We are a home rule city," Thoms said. "We could raise property taxes to make it up or potentially implement our own sales tax on the same items. It's not ideal but we will consider all of our options."
Chesney says he hopes the state will help local governments that could lose money without the tax.
"Our preference would be that the state would offset the loss of local revenue," Chesney added. "We can do that if the state would tighten their belts a bit. There may have to be some shared sacrifices with local taxing but we know it would be the best for the public."
The proposal would still need to be approved by Illinois lawmakers and it's unclear when that could happen or if it will even pass.