Aurora considers extending grocery tax that would otherwise expire
Illinois first put in place the 1% grocery tax in 1990 to help fund local governments, but it was repealed by a state bill passed last year. However, that bill allowed cities and villages to set their own tax to replace the statewide one.
Gov. JB Pritzker, who signed the bill, has said the statewide grocery tax hurts poorer people in particular because it takes a larger chunk of their income; however, the tax does not apply to those who receive benefits from the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also called SNAP, according to reporting from the Chicago Tribune.
Aurora receives around $4.5 million in revenue through the grocery sales tax each year. Without those funds, which help pay for public safety, road maintenance, public works, community programs and environmental services, the city would likely need to look to alternative funding sources or make cuts to services, according to Stacey Peterson, Aurora's director of financial operations.
Peterson proposed continuing the 1% grocery sales tax within the city at a meeting of the Aurora City Council's Finance Committee last week.
Aldermen on the Finance Committee voted 4-1 to recommend continuing the tax, and now the proposal is set to go before the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday at 5 p.m. There, all the aldermen on the Aurora City Council will have the chance to discuss the item before it goes officially before City Council next week for a final vote.
Cities and villages have until Oct. 1 to approve the local continuation of the 1% grocery sales tax, which would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, just after the tax expires statewide. Many nearby communities have already approved local extensions of the tax, including Montgomery, Sugar Grove, North Aurora, Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles, as have others throughout the Chicago area and the state.
At the Finance Committee meeting last week, Peterson and Ald. Edward Bugg, 9th Ward, stressed that the proposed grocery sales tax would only be a continuation of an existing tax, not a new tax on residents.
According to a staff report about the proposed tax included with the online version of Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting agenda, the grocery tax only applies to food that is bought and then taken to a different location to be prepared and eaten.
Food that is to be eaten immediately, such as restaurant food, is taxed at the regular sales tax rate of 8.25% plus the Food and Beverage Tax rate of 1.75% for a combined rate of 10%, but is not impacted by the grocery tax, staff said in the report.
The city's Home Rule Sales Tax rate of 1.25% does not apply to items covered by the grocery tax, the report said.
Mayor John Laesch has been saying that the city is in a difficult financial place. During his inauguration speech in May, he said the city is 'serious debt,' that his administration needs to get the city's 'financial house in order' and that residents will likely be seeing a property tax increase.
Aurora officials also believe that the city has been losing $4.3 million in tax revenue each year because of a perceived undercount of the city's population in the 2020 census. A special census was planned for this year to hopefully make up for some of that undercount and secure more funding, but it has been postponed.
Last month, the Aurora City Council approved the sale of up to $95 million in bonds for projects that were approved under former Mayor Richard Irvin, some of which Laesch voted against. Those projects included the construction of a relocated Fire Station 9, a new Fire Station 13, the new fire department headquarters building, the RiverEdge Park renovation and the recently-constructed new Public Works facility as well as the roadway improvement project around Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road.
That bond issue is expected to have a roughly $9.25 monthly impact on the property tax bill of a $300,000 house, but the city does have the option to use other funds if available to help repay the bonds, Aurora officials have said.
In addition to the continuation of the grocery tax, Aurora is also proposing doubling its hotel occupancy tax rate of 3%. That proposal is also set to go before the Aurora City Council's Committee of the Whole on Tuesday.
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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Here's what Iowa Christian leaders are saying about the ‘one, big, beautiful bill'
Capitol Hill Lutheran Church youth and adults work to sort clothing donations, build blessing bags, and make blankets for neighbors in need as part of a Mission Sunday initiative. (Photo courtesy of Rev. Minna Bothwell) As Iowa Christian faith leaders are preparing for the impact President Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill act' will have on their parishioners, many of them are voicing their opinions to the communities they serve. The expansive bill includes cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, health care services, additional work requirements and new immigration policies. 'With the 'big, beautiful bill,' I keep thinking to myself, we have so many generous people in the neighborhood and we have so many generous organizations but can those institutions and those people continue to be as generous once this bill goes through?' said Rev. Lizzie Gillman, priest at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Des Moines. 'The Gospel in itself is political in the sense that laws and policies affect people and people are made in the image of God,' Rev. Minna Bothwell, pastor of Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in Des Moines said. 'We are called as a church to tend and care for God's people.' The social justice committee at Capitol Hill Lutheran Church made a post urging parishioners to contact Congressman Zach Nunn and 'let them know this budget does not reflect your values or your faith.' Bothwell said she 'stays true to the text,' of the Gospel and whenever Jesus addresses 'something difficult in the community,' she will talk about it on Sunday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The church's social justice committee meets weekly to discuss the church's missions 'to address the concerns of the community and the impact bills and laws have on real people that we serve every single day.' Pastor Joseph Hall of Crossroads Church in Council Bluffs also openly discusses his political beliefs with parishioners. 'If we can't talk about it in church, where are they going to hear it? You know, from the lame-stream media? From liberals? They're not quiet about their beliefs and their stance and so I'm the same,' Hall said. 'I can't sit silent because somebody's going to teach my people, one way or the other. They better hear it from me, from a biblical, faith standpoint.' Recently in a court filing, the Internal Revenue Service stated churches could openly campaign and endorse candidates. Hall responded to this news in a Facebook post, stating 'This pastor endorsed without their permission. But thank you anyway. Maybe now more pastors won't sit silently while their nation is at stake?!' He said he has been named 'America's most patriotic pastor' by several sources, including the book 'Donald Trump's Army of God,' by Clifford Cook and Anise Cook, a book on Christian nationalists in Iowa. However, Hall says he wears the title 'proudly,' and claims the reporters tried to 'give us a bad name.' When Trump was running his campaign in Iowa, Hall served as a caucus captain and 'hosted multiple events for the Trump team.' He has also opened multiple Trump rallies including the recent America250 kickoff at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Hall claims the separation of church and state has always been taught wrong: 'It was never to take the church out of the state, it wasn't to take people of faith out of the government, it was to not allow the government to control the church,' and that 'godly, biblical values should direct every policy in office.' The Rt. Rev. Betsy Monnet, 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, however, says that within the Episcopal church 'all of our sermons ought to be based on the Gospel.' She said the church is 'attempting to preach the Gospel' and 'the values that are behind it' but parishioners may not hear their priests referring specifically to pieces of legislation or 'individual political positions.' 'Somebody who goes to an Episcopal church will probably hear prayers for the hungry, for the poor. Prayers for immigrants and prayers for those who are in danger. Prayers for those who are seeking healthcare and so on. Prayers for our creation, that we might be good stewards of it,' Monnet said. The Congressional Budget Office states the total federal spending for SNAP will be reduced by $287 billion between 2025 and 2034. According to a study done by Feeding America, this number is roughly equivalent to between 6 billion and 9 billion meals per year. Brother James Dowd is a Benedictine monk and founder of The Benedictine Way in Omaha. His work as a monk has taken him to congregations across Iowa and the surrounding states, including a recent visit to St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Des Moines. At St. Paul's, he delivered a homily urging members of the congregation to 'love urgently' those impacted by the bill passing, specifically including immigrants, the trans individuals and those who will lose SNAP benefits. According to Dowd, the Omaha neighborhood where his team hosts a food pantry has an unemployment rate of around 8%, compared to the rest of the city where it's 'virtually nonexistent.' He said between the cuts to the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement and the cuts to SNAP benefits, his St. Benedict's Food Pantry will see two things: 'the folks who are already coming will need more help and new people are going to be coming on top of it.' His team's pantry operates two days a week, Saturday morning and Tuesday afternoons. The Saturday morning slots are mostly attended by elderly individuals, he said. 'The decision they're making is 'Do I pay for medicine, do I pay for food?' And that can literally be a life-threatening decision,' Dowd said. On Tuesday afternoons, Dowd sees mostly mothers with young children who 'just can't make ends meet.' He said watching them coming home from work and picking their kids up but struggling to feed their kids is 'the most heartbreaking.' However, Hall sees 'things a little differently.' 'We try to bridge the gap and meet the need but then, not just give stuff away,' Hall said. 'That's not why we're called, we're called to lead them to a better life, to making better decisions, being better people, better citizens, better Christians.' Crossroads Church in Council Bluffs doesn't have any on-site outreach ministries but instead organizes a food and clothes drive for the local New Visions Homeless Services and hosts fundraising efforts 'several times a year.' Hall is a U.S. Army veteran and has served as lead pastor of Crossroads Church for just shy of 13 years. 'When hard-working, law-abiding, American-loving patriots take more money, that's a good thing. A big, beautiful thing. This is the greatest tax break in U.S. history,' he said. Hall added, 'the big, beautiful bill is a big, beautiful win' for the faith community, Christians, the church, the nation, and for citizens. He believes this budget bill will 'secure our future,' for both 'America and Americans.' Under the budget bill, beginning in 2027, taxpayers will be able to claim a credit of up to $1,700 a year to be used as qualified donations that support private K-12 school scholarships. Hall says this 'tax-credit for school choice' is a good thing for the faith community as it gives people of faith, who couldn't afford it before, the chance to send their kids to a Christian school and 'get them out of the woke public school system where liberal, evil teachers are indoctrinating our children.' The Iowa Department of Education already operates the Students First Education Savings Account. These accounts give taxpayer dollars totaling $7,826 per student for the 2024-2025 school year to eligible families to use on private school tuition and expenses. He also believes the new federal law protects religious freedoms and claims 'the last administration was attacking and trying to eliminate' those freedoms. 'The impact of this bill is huge. It's the most pro-family, pro-worker, pro-Christian, pro-American bill ever passed, that's why it's called 'big and beautiful,'' Hall said. 'Plain and simple, its America first. Not illegals, not other countries.' Bothwell calls the deportation-focused provisions in the budget bill 'devastating,' claiming it will 'tear families apart' and 'send people to communities that are unsafe.' She said for families who are seeking asylum from political violence, 'there are already quite a few fees to even get an attorney to help you file for asylum and file for a permit,' which will be exacerbated by the new fees introduced. The new fees required by this bill include: a $100 non-waivable fee to apply for asylum and a $100 annual fee for each year the application is pending. A new application fee of $250 for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. An increased, non-waivable fee from $50 to $500 when applying for Temporary Protected status. An increased fee of $550 for an initial work permit based on asylum applications. A fee of $275 for each renewal or exemption of employment authorization. 'It's putting individuals who are already vulnerable in a more vulnerable place. I see our calling as Christians to ease burdens, not to create tolls,' she said. 'These punitive fees punish families who are fleeing violence and seeking safety which then compounds trauma with financial strain. Financial strain that already exists before this bill goes into practice.' Hall, however, believes in stricter rules. 'Stricter rules on illegals, undocumented immigrants is a good thing just as stricter rules on criminals is a good thing. No consequences on criminals leads to greater crime,' Hall said. This bill rewards and enforces 'buying American, making American, staying in America,' he said. 'The fact of the matter is, if we are true and true Americans, we should love America and we should support America. If we don't love it, then you should find somewhere else to live.' 'I don't think it's prudent budgeting as much as it is a denial of dignity,' Bothwell said. 'These are people, they're not faceless statistics, they're our neighbors, they are made in God's image and we are called to love and support them.' Bothwell's parish is composed of members 'born on five different continents, and are from 23 different countries.' She says many of the members in her congregation rely on SNAP programs and her parish helps them apply for food assistance. She referenced a study conducted by the Iowa Hunger Coalition that states over 60% of SNAP recipients report the affordability of healthy foods as a barrier to healthy diets, saying 'over 60% of these recipients are working families they just don't earn enough to cover the cost of utilities.' 'Adding work requirements doesn't create self-sufficiency, it just kicks people off of programs who are already struggling to get by,' she said. 'It's kind of like, I don't know, pulling a ladder away from somebody, right? And then blaming them for not climbing the ladder you've just pulled away.' Beginning on Dec. 31, 2026, beneficiaries of Medicaid ages 19-64 will have to work 80 hours a month to be eligible for benefits. Currently, beneficiaries of SNAP programs without dependents aged 19-54 need to work for more than three months in three years. The new work requirement will require beneficiaries ages 18-64 and those with children aged 14 years and up to work the same length of time, but it is currently unclear when these requirements will go into effect. Hall believes 'restrictions are a good thing' because unrestricted access to food can 'more times than not, enable their situation and enable their mindset.' He said setting rules ensures people won't 'take advantage of the system.' He quotes 2 Thessalonians 3:10 'For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat,'' to give a biblical argument for the implementation of work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid benefits. 'The Bible is clear, it says if a man doesn't work, he doesn't deserve,' he claims. 'A work requirement is just another hoop for people to jump through, if you've seen the actual SNAP application, it's like 15 pages long. You don't easily get into the program, it takes a lot of work,' said Heather Wachendorf, minister of New Beginnings Christian Church in Urbandale. 'And if you're involved in recertification and you're out there trying to find a job or a better paying job, it's another job just to ensure you have what you need.' Wachendorf's parish opened up a 'community food closet' in part to address some of the shortcomings of the food pantry system. 'Most food pantries are part of a network and you can only go to one food pantry in the network, once a month. And when you go, you only get three days worth of food. And so that just leaves a really big gap,' Wachendorf said. 'We decided to open up our food closet to be a give what you can, take what you need model.' In addition to addressing a specific need, by keeping the closet accessible and unmonitored 24/7, Wachendorf believes this model allows people to 'maintain their dignity and their privacy.' Wachendorf's parish partners with other churches to combine efforts in addressing food insecurity in their communities including St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Every Friday morning, Gillman's and Wachendorf's communities get together to 'rescue' food from the Iowa Events Center, repackage it into individual meals and split the food evenly between the two communities' food closets. Gillman says these meals are especially important for consumers on the go, 'like many of our houseless friends,' who can utilize the microwave at the nearby gas station to enjoy a warm meal free of charge. Gillman says that churches are partnering with their communities to do all they can but 'Des Moines is getting hungrier and hungrier.' 'I see all these comments on social media saying 'the churches will take care of it, the churches will take care of the people,' and we are doing the best that we can now but we don't have the infrastructure to take care of these needs that keep popping up and popping up,' Gillman said. She encourages every church in a metro area to have a community fridge because 'it is the best way neighbors can share their gifts and provisions with one another,' but also it allows parishioners 'to meet each other.' She says the space created by the community fridge has led to her meeting many of the local families and creating space for neighbors to 'hang out.' Another exacerbating issue for Gillman is that many of the individuals reliant on the churches' feeding programs are members of the 'sandwich generation,' meaning they are taking care of both young children and adults whom they can't afford to put into a nursing facility. She also said she feels 'very afraid,' that these health care cuts may cause closures to nursing homes and rural hospitals. She is also 'worried' about the fact that Iowa is an OB-GYN desert and that pregnant mothers may not be able to get the care they need. 'Medicaid is not full of people who are trying to game the system, it's full of people who are hoping to someday not need Medicaid,' said Monnet 'The structure of our laws and the structure for exemption and our minimum wage laws and other employment laws are such that somebody can be working full time and still not afford their own insurance.' Monnet presides over all Episcopal churches in the state of Iowa. She expressed concerns that people will lose their medical coverage as a result of 'onerous documenting requirements.' She said that the U.S. is looking at Medicaid policy backwards by saying 'the only people who deserve healthcare are the ones who can earn it somehow,' rather than fostering a healthy society through providing health care to those in need. 'If I look at Jesus and I look at what he did, during his lifetime, he healed whoever came to him. It didn't matter if they were rich or poor, it didn't matter if they were from the immediate community or far away,' Monnet said. 'People would bring him people from all over the place and he would heal them because health is important to God.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
State Farm defends hefty 27.2% hike in Illinois homeowners insurance rates
Challenged by everyone from consumer groups to Gov. JB Pritzker over its imminent 27.2% homeowners insurance rate increase in Illinois, State Farm faces the question: Will it seek to defend its widely criticized decision? The answer: hail yes. Citing more frequent extreme weather events such as wind, hail and tornados, insufficient premiums to cover claims and the rising cost of repairs due to inflation, State Farm said its Illinois homeowners business has seen 'unsustainable' losses in 13 of the last 15 years. It needs to raise rates to remain 'financially strong,' the company said in a statement. 'These losses are driven in part by severe weather damaging communities across the state,' State Farm said. 'No company can absorb such losses forever and still be there for customers when disaster strikes.' In 2024, for example, State Farm paid out $1.26 in claims for every $1 premium collected from Illinois homeowners, the insurance giant said. That included $638 million in hail damage claims, second only to Texas. The rate increase, first reported by the Tribune last week, has created a political firestorm for Bloomington-based State Farm, the largest home insurer in Illinois. State Farm is raising homeowners insurance rates in Illinois by a whopping 27.2% beginning Aug. 15, according to a filing with the state last month. The rate hike, one of the largest in the state's history, will affect nearly 1.5 million policyholders. New policyholders will pay the higher rates as of Tuesday. In addition, State Farm is implementing a minimum 1% deductible on all wind and hail losses, raising the out-of-pocket costs for homeowners filing a related damage claim. On Thursday, Pritzker issued a statement expressing concern over State Farm's 'unfair and arbitrary insurance rate hike,' challenging the methodology used to calculate the increased premiums to be paid by Illinois homeowners. Pritzker said the increases are based on catastrophe loss numbers that are inconsistent with the Illinois Department of Insurance's analysis, concluding that State Farm was shifting out-of-state costs onto Illinois homeowners. In its statement, State Farm said it does not shift costs between states and dismissed Pritzker's claims as 'political rhetoric.' The insurance company said it has provided information to the state to support its position. 'Illinois rates are based on Illinois risk — it's as simple as that — not for losses in other states,' State Farm spokesperson Gina Morss-Fischer told the Tribune on Monday. State Farm has been hit hard by recent weather-related losses in other states. For example, the insurance company has received nearly 13,000 claims and paid out more than $4.2 billion to California homeowners who suffered losses during the devastating wildfires that raged across the Los Angeles area in January, according to an update posted last week on its website. While State Farm contends that out-of-state losses do not directly affect Illinois premiums, at least one industry analyst said there is a potential connection. If losses are big enough in one state, insurance companies may have to pay more for reinsurance — the insurance company for the insurance companies — resulting in increased rates for policyholders across the country, according to Shannon Martin, an industry analyst for Bankrate. In addition, as people rebuild from wildfires in California to floods in Florida, the increased costs of everything from labor to materials can deplete resources and make it more expensive to do repairs in other parts of the country, including Illinois, Martin said. 'You don't operate in a vacuum, and you can't, because we're all part of a risk pool,' Martin said. 'When there's loss in one area, everyone's going to feel it in some way, shape or form.' The increased frequency of extreme weather events has pushed up homeowners insurance rates across the country by 40.4% over the past six years, according to LendingTree's 'State of Home Insurance' report for 2025. Illinois had the seventh highest increase, rising 59.5% between 2019 and 2024, the report found. In February, Northbrook-based Allstate raised homeowners insurance rates by 14.3% for nearly 248,000 Illinois customers. Last year, Allstate raised homeowners insurance rates in Illinois by 12.7%, while State Farm implemented a 12.3% increase. State Farm's latest and likely largest-ever Illinois increase has renewed calls for broader legislation to regulate the rates insurers can charge homeowners. Unlike most states, in Illinois, which is home to both State Farm and Allstate, insurers do not need regulatory approval to raise premiums. Legislation is pending in Springfield that would require regulatory approval of larger rate hikes. 'It's time for the General Assembly to act,' Abe Scarr, director of Illinois PIRG, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, said in a statement. 'At a minimum, Illinois should empower the state Department of Insurance to reject or modify excessive rate hikes, a basic consumer protection that residents in almost every other state enjoy.' At the same time, increased regulation can precipitate companies to abandon markets where it is no longer profitable to insure homes exposed to more frequent weather events. A December report by the Senate Budget Committee said insurance markets have been destabilized from New England to Hawaii as providers decline to renew homeowners policies. 'Having more oversight, on one hand, could really help homeowners, but on the other hand, if carriers don't want to be there, that puts homeowners in a pickle,' Martin said. 'So it's about finding that balance where people can find affordable and available insurance at a rate that insurance companies are satisfied that they're profitable.' Illinois ranked 22nd in average annual home insurance costs at $2,743 per year, according to the LendingTree report. A 27.2% rate increase would add about $746 per year to that total for Illinois homeowners who have State Farm insurance. While homeowners rates are going up, State Farm is offering a bit of good news for Illinois customers this week. On Friday, State Farm's auto insurance rates in Illinois will decrease an average of 5.7%, with some customers seeing reductions in premiums of up to 15%, based on lower projected claims costs, the company said. rchannick@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Chicago Tribune
8 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
State Farm defends hefty 27.2% hike in Illinois homeowners insurance rates
Challenged by everyone from consumer groups to Gov. JB Pritzker over its imminent 27.2% homeowners insurance rate increase in Illinois, State Farm faces the question: Will it seek to defend its widely criticized decision? The answer: hail yes. Citing more frequent extreme weather events such as wind, hail and tornados, insufficient premiums to cover claims and the rising cost of repairs due to inflation, State Farm said its Illinois homeowners business has seen 'unsustainable' losses in 13 of the last 15 years. It needs to raise rates to remain 'financially strong,' the company said in a statement. 'These losses are driven in part by severe weather damaging communities across the state,' State Farm said. 'No company can absorb such losses forever and still be there for customers when disaster strikes.' In 2024, for example, State Farm paid out $1.26 in claims for every $1 premium collected from Illinois homeowners, the insurance giant said. That included $638 million in hail damage claims, second only to Texas. The rate increase, first reported by the Tribune last week, has created a political firestorm for Bloomington-based State Farm, the largest home insurer in Illinois. State Farm is raising homeowners insurance rates in Illinois by a whopping 27.2% beginning Aug. 15, according to a filing with the state last month. The rate hike, one of the largest in the state's history, will affect nearly 1.5 million policyholders. New policyholders will pay the higher rates as of Tuesday. In addition, State Farm is implementing a minimum 1% deductible on all wind and hail losses, raising the out-of-pocket costs for homeowners filing a related damage claim. On Thursday, Pritzker issued a statement expressing concern over State Farm's 'unfair and arbitrary insurance rate hike,' challenging the methodology used to calculate the increased premiums to be paid by Illinois homeowners. Pritzker said the increases are based on catastrophe loss numbers that are inconsistent with the Illinois Department of Insurance's analysis, concluding that State Farm was shifting out-of-state costs onto Illinois homeowners. In its statement, State Farm said it does not shift costs between states and dismissed Pritzker's claims as 'political rhetoric.' The insurance company said it has provided information to the state to support its position. 'Illinois rates are based on Illinois risk — it's as simple as that — not for losses in other states,' State Farm spokesperson Gina Morss-Fischer told the Tribune on Monday. State Farm has been hit hard by recent weather-related losses in other states. For example, the insurance company has received nearly 13,000 claims and paid out more than $4.2 billion to California homeowners who suffered losses during the devastating wildfires that raged across the Los Angeles area in January, according to an update posted last week on its website. While State Farm contends that out-of-state losses do not directly affect Illinois premiums, at least one industry analyst said there is a potential connection. If losses are big enough in one state, insurance companies may have to pay more for reinsurance — the insurance company for the insurance companies — resulting in increased rates for policyholders across the country, according to Shannon Martin, an industry analyst for Bankrate. In addition, as people rebuild from wildfires in California to floods in Florida, the increased costs of everything from labor to materials can deplete resources and make it more expensive to do repairs in other parts of the country, including Illinois, Martin said. 'You don't operate in a vacuum, and you can't, because we're all part of a risk pool,' Martin said. 'When there's loss in one area, everyone's going to feel it in some way, shape or form.' The increased frequency of extreme weather events has pushed up homeowners insurance rates across the country by 40.4% over the past six years, according to LendingTree's 'State of Home Insurance' report for 2025. Illinois had the seventh highest increase, rising 59.5% between 2019 and 2024, the report found. In February, Northbrook-based Allstate raised homeowners insurance rates by 14.3% for nearly 248,000 Illinois customers. Last year, Allstate raised homeowners insurance rates in Illinois by 12.7%, while State Farm implemented a 12.3% increase. State Farm's latest and likely largest-ever Illinois increase has renewed calls for broader legislation to regulate the rates insurers can charge homeowners. Unlike most states, in Illinois, which is home to both State Farm and Allstate, insurers do not need regulatory approval to raise premiums. Legislation is pending in Springfield that would require regulatory approval of larger rate hikes. 'It's time for the General Assembly to act,' Abe Scarr, director of Illinois PIRG, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, said in a statement. 'At a minimum, Illinois should empower the state Department of Insurance to reject or modify excessive rate hikes, a basic consumer protection that residents in almost every other state enjoy.' At the same time, increased regulation can precipitate companies to abandon markets where it is no longer profitable to insure homes exposed to more frequent weather events. A December report by the Senate Budget Committee said insurance markets have been destabilized from New England to Hawaii as providers decline to renew homeowners policies. 'Having more oversight, on one hand, could really help homeowners, but on the other hand, if carriers don't want to be there, that puts homeowners in a pickle,' Martin said. 'So it's about finding that balance where people can find affordable and available insurance at a rate that insurance companies are satisfied that they're profitable.' Illinois ranked 22nd in average annual home insurance costs at $2,743 per year, according to the LendingTree report. A 27.2% rate increase would add about $746 per year to that total for Illinois homeowners who have State Farm insurance. While homeowners rates are going up, State Farm is offering a bit of good news for Illinois customers this week. On Friday, State Farm's auto insurance rates in Illinois will decrease an average of 5.7%, with some customers seeing reductions in premiums of up to 15%, based on lower projected claims costs, the company said.
