Board Updates Grocery Tax Ordinance per State Request

Village of Beecher Board Meeting | Dec. 8, 2025

Article Summary: To comply with requirements from the Illinois Department of Revenue, the Beecher Village Board amended its Municipal Grocery Retailers’ Occupation Tax ordinance. The change is a technical language adjustment to ensure the 1% tax is implemented correctly on January 1, 2026.

Grocery Tax Ordinance Key Points:

• Ordinance Amended: Ordinance No. 1428 was updated to match statutory language required by the state.

• Tax Rate: The ordinance confirms a 1% tax on the selling price of groceries.

• Effective Date: The tax will be implemented on January 1, 2026.

• Reasoning: The Illinois Department of Revenue requested specific wording changes regarding “sales of service” to process the tax collection.

The Beecher Village Board passed an amendment to its grocery tax ordinance on Monday, December 8, 2025. The vote updates Ordinance No. 1428, originally adopted in July 2025, which established a Municipal Grocery Retailers’ Occupation Tax.

Village Administrator Charity Mitchell explained that the amendment was necessary due to a request from the Illinois Department of Revenue. “They wanted a minor language change… something that they said we had to do,” Mitchell told the Board.

The amendment clarifies the language regarding the “Municipal Grocery Service Occupation Tax,” specifically imposing the tax on persons engaged in the business of making sales of service who transfer groceries as an incident to that sale. The rate remains fixed at 1%.

The ordinance must be filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue by January 1, 2026, to ensure effective implementation.