McHenry Times

Illinois is facing soaring levels of inflation, and state Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) weighed in on what it could mean for families across the state.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) summary on July 13, which found that costs increased 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 has risen by 59.9%, while food prices have increased by 10.4%.

"I think it’s the same impact it's having across the country, reduced spending, drop in production and people getting further behind," Wilcox said to the McHenry Times. "This is one of those challenges for which I wish everything lawmaker was required to take some economic courses. Legislators don’t understand you can't maneuver one lever and not expect responses from the market. In Illinois it will be worse, because we already have all the migration."

He believes that Illinois residents will not only have to endure rising inflation, but that they will likely have to face higher taxes as well. 

"The state now has as much as $3 million in unexpected revenue, and it keeps flowing in," he said. "You can bet dems will attempt to appropriate this money and in out years all the federal bailout money does not exist. The same revenue stream is not there going forward."

Wilcox said that he'd witnessed the harmful effects of inflation on his constituents.

"People are pressed by gas costs and not traveling this summer or doing the things they want to with their kids. People are struggling and we can’t afford to do what we were accustomed to," he said.

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.