Prairie State Wire

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is being accused of forcing “propaganda” regarding gas and grocery taxes on Illinois citizens. 

“According to the recently-passed state budget, gas stations and grocery stores are required to spread propaganda for Pritzker’s agenda, or face a fine of up to $500 PER DAY,” Illinois GOP said in a fundraising email. “Pritzker is ready to use every dirty trick in the book, including abusing his own executive authority and strong-arming Illinois businesses into pushing his agenda, to hold onto power. He’s spending MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dollars to deflect from his corruption, incompetence, and all-around failure.”

Illinois’s budget includes a provision requiring retailers to display a sign reminding customers an automatic increase in the state’s gas tax has been delayed. Retailers who do not display such a sign are faced with a $500 for each day out of compliance. 

The budget also requires grocery stores to include the following note on receipts, “From July 1, 2022, through July 1, 2023, the State of Illinois sales tax on groceries is 0%.” If receipts can't carry the note, the statements must be on a four-inch by eight-inch placard to be posted in the establishment. The tax was suspended for the fiscal year only.

Illinois has the country's second-highest gas tax. Although Pritzker has made comments about cutting the state's gas tax, no tangible moves have been taken in that direction. "We are looking at ways we can reduce the gas tax across the State of Illinois, because we recognize, even since I introduced my budget, that war has broken out and the result of that war is that oil prices have gone through the roof," he said.

Illinoisans pay 77.96 cents a gallon in taxes alone. Both federal and state taxes are included. Missouri, which lies immediately across the border to the west, has the country's second-lowest gas tax. In Illinois, a gallon of gas costs 42 cents higher than in neighboring Missouri.