New Lenox to Reinstate 1% Grocery Tax, Mayor Blames State Politics

Article Summary: The New Lenox Village Board is moving to locally reimpose the 1% grocery tax that the state is eliminating, a move Mayor Tim Baldermann called necessary to avoid a million-dollar budget shortfall and blamed on political maneuvering by Governor J.B. Pritzker.

Municipal Grocery Tax Key Points:

• The board held a first reading for an ordinance that would create a 1% municipal tax on groceries, effective January 1.

• The action is a direct response to the state of Illinois eliminating its 1% tax on groceries, revenue which was previously distributed to municipalities.

• Mayor Tim Baldermann stated the village stands to lose over $1 million in annual revenue if the tax is not replaced locally.

• The new local tax will ensure residents see no change on their grocery receipts, as it simply replaces the expiring state tax.

NEW LENOX — Shoppers in New Lenox will see no change in the tax on their grocery bills next year, as the Village Board took the first step Monday toward instituting a local 1% grocery tax to replace the state-level tax being eliminated on January 1.

The move, which Mayor Tim Baldermann described as a necessary measure to prevent a budget shortfall of over $1 million, was accompanied by his sharp criticism of state leadership.

“It was nothing more than a political play by the governor,” Baldermann said of the state’s decision to eliminate the tax, which municipalities have long relied on. “This is our money that they’re constantly dwindling away. We get less and less and less from the state of our money that was promised to us.”

The state law eliminating the 1% grocery tax gave local governments the authority to impose their own tax at the same rate to retain the revenue. Baldermann argued that while the state presented the move as tax relief for consumers, it was really a political maneuver that shifted the burden onto local governments without providing any actual relief from state-levied taxes.

“There’s plenty of state tax. He could have given one of those pennies up,” Baldermann said, referring to Governor Pritzker. “Why didn’t he just take 5% for the state and leave us alone? He’s got a $55 billion budget that he can’t pay. He’s got a state that’s sinking financially.”

The mayor stressed that the revenue is critical for funding core local services. “We’re the ones that have to plow the streets, patrol the streets, take care of the village hall services, provide clean water,” he said. Without the tax, the village would either have to cut services or find the revenue elsewhere.

The board is expected to give the ordinance a final vote at its next meeting to ensure it is in place by the end of the month, which is the deadline to have it take effect on January 1.

Trustee Bryan Reiser noted the importance of communicating the reason for the new tax to residents. “I think it’s going to be important that we have a plan in place to educate our residents to as to why we’re having to place a local grocery tax to, you know, basically take the place of a state tax that’s being taken away,” Reiser said.

Baldermann assured the board that residents would not see an additional tax on their receipts. “Nothing changes,” he explained. “It’s not an additional tax. We’re not doing anything that isn’t already there. We just have to take action because he took away our tax.”

Baldermann concluded by stating that while no one likes taxes, the village uses its revenue to invest directly back into the community through services and amenities that maintain property values and quality of life.

“The state squanders it and then when they squander enough, they take from us,” he said.