Numbers tell a story, but rarely without help.
In August, Capitol News Illinois reported that a 10-day reduction of state sales tax on certain school supplies would carry a $10 million price tag. On Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office announced the actual total was $11.4 million.
If you’re the governor, it’s a well-timed chance to use the headline “Pritzker Provides $11.4 Million in Savings.” Considering the state budget side, that means seeking another $1.4 million to cover spending priorities before the fiscal year ends in June. My mother would point out that shoppers spent $229.3 million to “save” $11.4 million, and real savings come from not buying anything.
Absent from the release are details about where the shopping happened, other than citing “2,284 retailers participated” as if the program were voluntary. Geography matters here because the 10-day period directly followed a quarter-point sales tax increase in Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane and Will counties to raise money for the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority, yielding that agency an extra $573,250.
Obviously, for some families any savings are meaningful. School supplies and many clothing items scarcely qualify as discretionary purchases. But many of the items on the state’s list of things that “must be used by students in the course of study” also look like standard office inventory: binders, folders, legal pads, pens and paper.
The qualified clothing list includes swimsuits, lab coats and neckties (provided they retail for less than $125), which certainly could have academic purposes. But having spent a few years shopping for my adult-sized children, it’s obvious the discount structure necessarily means covering certain transactions that have no connection to the K-12 life.
I’m uninterested in splitting those hairs, especially if it means some people who genuinely need a break actually saw their money stretch a bit further. But when it all comes out in the wash, and the impact is roughly 90 cents per Illinoisan, it seems reasonable to ask whether any of the hard work was really worthwhile other than for political purposes.
The state didn’t directly spend $10 (or 11.4) million on this program; it just used a slightly smaller figure when estimating the year’s sales tax receipts as part of budgeting $55.9 billion. It’s a tiny enough percentage that there would’ve been no reason to curtail spending on any specific line item. As consumer prices steadily increase, so do tax revenues. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reports September sales tax receipts were up 8.1%, or $82 million, so the problem may already be solved.
There’s never enough money to cover every priority. Leaving some on the table is a choice. Will that buy goodwill? Or just prove the rate was always too high?
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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October 29, 2026 at 10:06AM
