(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It might be popular with shoppers angry about inflation, but the governor’s plan to bag the sales tax on groceries has some suburban mayors upset.
Last month, Governor JB Pritzker got applause during his State of the State message, when he suggested doing away with Illinois' one-percent sales tax on groceries.
"It's one more regressive tax that we just don't need," he said at the time. "If it reduces inflation for families from 4 to 3 percent, even if it's a few hundred bucks back in families' pockets."
But some suburban mayors are calling on the governor to pull his proposal off the table.
Mayors from Algonquin, Barrington, Libertyville and other communities say money from the sales tax goes to local government operations and if the governor plans to eliminate the tax, he needs to propose a way to replace that revenue.
They also said that eliminating the tax could affect these suburbs from providing services such as police, fire, public works and roads. The Illinois Municipal League said over the years, the state has cut by 3.5% the amount of income tax dollars going to municipalities.
“We want a more balanced approached,” Libertyville Village President Donna Johnson told the Chicago Tribune.
Barrington Mayor Karen Darch said the revenue from the grocery tax brings in $600,000 in the case of her village.
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