In the most obvious and necessary move it could make, River Forest expects to impose a 1% sales tax on groceries. That tax would replace the 1% sales tax on groceries long collected by the state of Illinois and then forwarded to local communities.
Just possible there are some political machinations at work here as Gov. J.B. Pritzker now gets credit for cutting a tax that his government never benefitted from anyhow. And local towns will take only modest heat if they educate their constituents that the new local tax will result in no hike in the cost of their groceries.
River Forest is home to what Oak Parkers affectionately call the “Big Jewel” as well as a Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme on North Avenue. Collectively those stores bring in $1.1 million annually in local sales tax. Matt Walsh, village administrator, acknowledged losing that income would dent the village budget. He expects local officials to impose the local version of the tax in a timely way to avoid any shortfall.
A reasonable outcome from a political maneuver.