The Bloomington City Council will take up a potential local grocery sales tax on Monday.
The council is also expected to raise the cap on gambling licenses and provide tax rebates for downtown businesses who have been hindered by ongoing streetscape construction.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Government Center.
Grocery tax
Gov. JB Pritzker called the grocery tax regressive and abolished it last year, effective in January 2026. Local communities can approve their own 1% percent sales tax on groceries.
When former Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe was in office, he said there was little appetite by the city council for such a 1% tax.
However, Bloomington also has been laboring under a structural deficit, and the city now says such a tax would prevent the loss of $1.5 million in revenue it gets from the state version of the tax.
“We know no one likes taxes, and we do not make this recommendation lightly. But maintaining this modest 1% tax allows us to protect services and move forward with investments that strengthen our entire community,” City Manager Jeff Jurgens said in a statement. “Without this revenue, we would be looking at deeper cuts to services and no ability to address major projects.”
The Town of Normal, which approved a local tax a year ago, said about 600 Illinois communities have approved a local sales tax on groceries.
Gaming licenses
The council also will consider raising the cap on video gambling licenses from 60 to 75 on Monday.
The city currently has 12 businesses on a waiting list to receive a license. Several have lobbied the city to lift the cap, arguing the licenses create an unfair advantage for the businesses that have them.
“I think the current system that we have very much creates winners and losers in our community,” Ward 6 council member Cody Hendricks said during an August council meeting.
The city last raised its cap in 2019, by adding eight more licenses.
Tax rebate
And, the council will consider whether to authorize a temporary 50% sales tax rebate for downtown businesses disrupted by streetscape construction.
“Downtown Bloomington is seeing a level of investment we’ve never experienced before, and we want to make sure our businesses are supported through this transition,” said Mayor Dan Brady. “This program will help them weather short-term disruptions and ensure that downtown emerges stronger than ever.”
