Bensenville voters reject grocery tax with 90% voting ‘no’

With 90% voting “no,” Bensenville voters shot down a grocery tax proposal. Illinois’ statewide grocery tax is ending at the end of 2025, but some local leaders want it to stay.

Bensenville voters strongly rejected a proposed 1% grocery tax in the April 1 election, with 90% voting against it.

Leaders in the DuPage County village, right by O’Hare International Airport, said they would only impose a grocery tax if approved by voters through an advisory question on the April 1 ballot. Voters loudly said “no.”

The village asked voters about creating its own grocery tax after the state tax ends in January 2026. This tax would have made food such as packaged goods, fruits and vegetables cost more, but not things already taxed higher such as alcohol, soft drinks or ready-made meals.

While leaders in about 50 towns in Illinois so far have decided to impose their own 1% grocery tax starting in 2026, when Bensenville voters were given a choice they clearly didn’t want a tax on their need to eat. The law ending the statewide grocery tax allows any community to keep it without the need to ask voters for permission.

Illinois grocery shoppers saved $360 million in one year while the grocery tax was suspended as an inflation hedge. That comes out to about $30 per person, or more than $115 in food for a family of four.

Even if a town passes a grocery tax, residents can potentially go one town over and save money on groceries. This was previously only possible for Illinoisans near border states.

Municipalities have until October to tell the state whether they’re implementing a local grocery tax in 2026. If their residents are like Bensenville’s, local leaders should be careful before passing this very unpopular tax.