Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Revenue meeting, June 3, 2025
- When: Tue, Jun 3, 2025, 12:00 PM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Revenue
- Video: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1090159082
- Transcript: full text (21,665 words, official captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Revenue, chaired by Alderperson William E. Hall, held a subject matter hearing on maintaining the grocery tax and on revenues requiring state action, including a sales tax on services, the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) and the Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT); no votes were taken. Five public commenters spoke, including a hospitality group urging a hearing on video gaming and rideshare drivers urging support for the Fair Share ordinance. The CFO and budget director said about 23 percent of corporate fund revenue flows through the state, projected a 2026 gap of $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion, and said the city must act by October 1 to keep the 1 percent grocery tax worth about $80 million; outside experts from the University of Illinois, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, the Civic Federation and the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability discussed grocery tax regressivity, modernizing the sales tax base to consumer services, restoring the LGDF share to 10 percent, and ending state PPRT diversions. Members asked about strategy with Springfield, the timing of the grocery tax decision, pension obligation bonds, PPRT underperformance, and video gaming revenue, which the budget director said would be small.
Topics: grocery tax, sales tax on services, Local Government Distributive Fund, Personal Property Replacement Tax, state revenue, 2026 budget gap, pension obligation bonds, video gaming, Fair Share ordinance, public comment
Agenda items discussed
- 1:41:35 Public comment: discussed
- 1:57:18 Subject matter hearing on maintaining the grocery tax and revenues requiring state action: discussed
Alderpersons who spoke
- William E. Hall (chair): Introduced the hearing on the grocery tax and state revenue sources and the invited city officials and experts. (1:57:18); Said the state's sales tax loophole benefits high earners whose spending is mostly on untaxed services and that Illinois taxes far fewer services than peers. (0:00); Said the city has a structurally imbalanced budget but is positioned to make policy changes to restore its financial footing. (0:00)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Asked for clarification on the current LGDF rate, citing an 8 percent figure he found online. (0:00); Asked whether tariffs could drive another surge in corporate profits and PPRT revenue. (0:00); Said he supports a tax on services and asked about the $127 million estimate and the difference between consumer and professional services. (0:00)
- Pat Dowell (alderperson): Said the needed tax policy shift is a heavy lift and asked what incremental strategy would align city and state interests, including on property tax reform. (0:00); Asked whether state officials would be added to the mayor's fiscal sustainability working group. (0:00); Asked the budget director for an estimate of video gaming revenue. (0:00)
- Anthony J. Quezada (alderperson): Asked the Civic Federation to explain how the sales tax structure reflects the 1960s economy. (0:00); Said the tax burden is inequitably concentrated rather than Illinois being the most taxed state, and asked about coordination with Cook County's property tax reform group. (0:00); Asked for a breakdown of which services other states tax and what target the city should pursue. (0:00)
- Andre Vasquez Jr. (alderperson): Said most proposals require state action and asked when council's submitted revenue ideas would be discussed. (0:00); Asked whether the city can authorize video poker on its own. (0:00); Said the city missed an opportunity to extend the grocery tax last year and asked what conversations took place then. (0:00)
- William Conway (alderperson): Asked whether PPRT revenue running 40 percent below budget is due to net operating loss limits and whether it will rebound. (0:00)
Exchanges between members
- 0:00 Alderperson Pat Dowell thanked the chair after her questions.
- 0:00 Alderperson Andre Vasquez Jr. thanked the chair for recognizing him.
- 0:00 The chair responded to Alderperson Andre Vasquez Jr. that revenue ideas would be reviewed and directed the question to the budget director.
- 0:00 Alderperson Andre Vasquez Jr. thanked the chair at the end of his questions.