Sales Tax

When the state rollback of the locally shared grocery tax first passed, then-Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said he believed there was no appetite on the Bloomington City Council to impose a local tax. Though the vote was still split, the council passed the tax this week.

The dispute over shared sales tax money for mental health and public safety has escalated again. Normal and Bloomington have formally accused the county of defaulting on the decade-old intergovernmental agreement on use of the shared revenue.

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.

Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady is trying to reassure citizens concerned about potential changes in zoning.

The Town of Normal is ratcheting up its rhetoric on the shared sales tax agreement the town and City of Bloomington have with McLean County government. And the county is pushing back hard.

Answers to why the roof of Reconcile Church in Bloomington caved aren't possible now that the building has been demolished. But city officials are asking themselves what they could have done differently.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos said if the county board does not act on an amendment to pause sales tax sharing that lasts at least a year, it would chill conversation among the town, city, and county over potential changes to an intergovernmental agreement.

McLean County Board Chair Elizabeth Johnston says she’s encouraged to hear the City of Bloomington reaffirm its commitment to mental health, but the county is resisting efforts by the city and Town of Normal to suspend sharing tax revenue for the mental health and public safety fund.

The Bloomington City Council has now approved an audit and a pause on giving city sales tax money to McLean County government for jail bond debt, criminal justice technology, and mental health services. So, now what?

The McLean County Board on Thursday approved an audit of the county’s mental health and public safety sales tax fund. The resolution to the intergovernmental agreement [IGA] will require approval by the Town of Normal and City of Bloomington.