Lake County Gazette

Residents in Illinois and across the nation face decreased spending power due to inflation soaring to the highest it's been in 40 years. State Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) recently weighed in on the issue.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) summary on July 13, which found that costs rose 9.1% in the last year, marking a 40-year high. In the last month, the cost of energy increased by 7.5%, gas prices rose 11.2% and the cost of food increased by 1%. In the last year, the cost of gas rose by 59.9%, while food prices increased by 10.4%.

"It’s crushing families, just about every middle class family is now being crushed on everything from grocery to gas and everything in between," Bos said to the Lake County Gazette. "At the same time, the governor is touting all the tax revenue coming into the state. Well of course, that’s because were paying so much more for everything, and the taxes for it are as high as ever."

"People that use to be comfortable are now struggling, because everything costs so much more. And it’s only going to get worse, because nothing is being done to stop it."

Bos predicted that Illinois residents will not only have to endure rising inflation, but also higher taxes as well. 

"I don’t think there will be an increase right away, but once inflation settles it and the higher revenues because normalized that could happen," he said. "At that point, it’s either cut spending or increase taxes, and once the democratic majority starts spending that money they want to be looking to stop."

Business owners, facing increased costs in supplies, shipping and other expenditures, could be forced to cut jobs, according to the Center Square. Todd Maisch, CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, said, "the question for policy makers in Illinois" is whether they are going to raise taxes because of inflation, "or are we going to weather the storm and show that government can be on sound fiscal footing."

Illinoisans are paying an average of $4,386 more in 2022 than they paid in 2021 for the same goods and services due to price increases, according to Illinois Policy. The average Illinois resident will pay an extra $1,122 for gas this year, while also spending an additional $504 on groceries and $280 for utilities. These extra costs mean many people will dip into their savings and skip some recreational activities.