Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
ALTON – Alton City Council members voted 5-2 on Wednesday to officially replace the state’s expiring 1% sales tax on groceries with a city-wide grocery tax.
Voting against the ordinance were Aldermen Chris Bohn and Michael Velloff. Voting in favor were Aldermen Martha Pfister, Rosie Brown, Stephanie Elliott, John Meehan, and Patricia Ford.
Each alderman has consistently voted the same way on the grocery tax since the June 9, 2025 Committee of the Whole meeting. No vote was held during the last City Council meeting, when the item was laid over until this week.
Previously passed in the form of a resolution, the ordinance will now be adopted into the City Code well in advance of the Oct. 1, 2025 deadline needed for the city to start collecting the tax on Jan. 1, 2026.
Since 100% of the proceeds from the state’s 1% grocery tax has gone directly to municipalities since 1990, allowing it to expire could have resulted in major revenue losses for the city. Comptroller Debbie Dunlap previously estimated that without replacing the grocery tax, Alton would face an annual loss of $400,000 to the city’s General Fund.
Alton officially joins several other communities which have passed similar grocery tax measures, including Jerseyville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and Wood River. One exception is the Village of Godfrey, where the mayor’s tie-breaking vote narrowly approved a general sales tax increase instead of a replacement grocery tax. More details are available in this related story on Riverbender.com.
A full recording of the July 9, 2025 Alton City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
