Taxing groceries is one of the most regressive forms of taxation possible. We all need to eat, and grocery prices have already gone up 31% since 2019. The state ended the grocery tax, and while the governor and the state legislature should have replaced the income to the city somehow when it did so, this is an opportunity for us to find a way to tax the rich instead of the working class

As is, according to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, one in four children are in danger of hunger, and more than a third of households in Chicago are unable to sustain a basic living standard on the wages they make. People in the lowest fifth of the population in regards to income have to pay more than a third of their income to food costs compared to less than 7% for those in the highest fifth of the population, based on research filed with the National Institute for Health. These desparities don't just impact basic quality of life, but they have direct impacts on students' performance in school, on growth, and on health outcomes like the development of adult-onset diabetes and other conditions.

This is a national crisis, but it is one where policy can make a tremendous impact. By doing nothing to replace the grocery tax directly, the city of Chicago can lower prices on groceries. That opens up an $80 million hole in the budget, but given that solutions must already be found to close between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion in the next budget based on early estimates, it makes sense to include this amount in that total and deal with it all at once with progressive revenue solutions that give relief to the working class.