Editorial: Arlington Heights looks to Chicago for new stuff to tax

Yahoo

13-07-2025

Arlington Heights is best known these days as being the likely future home of the Chicago Bears.
But lately, the northwest suburb seems to be intent on grabbing more than just professional football teams from Chicago. It's looking to the city for some more unwelcome imports — like new taxing ideas. With an array of taxes and fees on all sorts of activities, Chicago is an excellent source of such things if you're in the market for them.
Arlington Heights is among the first municipalities outside of Chicago considering a streaming tax on residents. The city of Chicago pioneered and has enforced a digital 'amusement' tax on streaming since 2015, currently at 10.25%, though the tax rate was lower (9%) when originally adopted.
Officials say the proposed 5% streaming tax would help offset losses from declining cable franchise fees and telecommunications taxes. As more residents cut the cord, revenue from these sources has dropped — from about $5.5 million two decades ago to just under $3 million today, according to the Daily Herald.
The tax is estimated to generate about $500,000 if implemented, but the Herald calculated that it would cost the average consumer anywhere from $41 to $61 extra per year, assuming they subscribe to multiple streaming services, which many suburbanites do. Village officials say the additional charge on streaming services would help cover the cost of staffing a fifth Fire Department ambulance, which is being deployed this year in response to rising emergency call volumes.
That would be on top of already high local taxes. In 2024, BlockShopper pegged the median Arlington Heights property tax bill at over $9,000. For many homes in the village, those bills push $20,000 and higher.
What began as a targeted Chicago tax is quickly becoming a new way for local governments to plug budget holes — at the expense of everyday entertainment.
Arlington Heights isn't the first suburb to put the streaming tax on the table, but implementing it would certainly make the village an early adopter. East Dundee adopted a 5% amusement tax in April 2022 that includes video and audio streaming services, making it the first Illinois municipality beyond Chicago to levy such a tax. Evanston also adopted a 5% streaming tax in 2020.
And don't forget, state lawmakers considered expanding the state's 6.25% sales tax to streaming services across Illinois in the session that ended in May. That didn't happen, but it was part of the conversation, and we wouldn't be surprised to see that resurface.
Suburbanites should take notice of this trend. As Chicago has demonstrated repeatedly, once a new tax is adopted, it only goes up.
When high-tax areas start calling for new revenue streams, we have to wonder what's going on, and residents are likely wondering where all of their property tax dollars are going. We understand it's not cheap to provide services in communities where expectations are high. But let's be honest: Arlington Heights is already out of reach for many working families — and rising taxes aren't helping. In just the past few years, Arlington Heights' police and fire pension shortfalls alone have grown into the tens of millions, adding serious pressure to the municipal budget. That may help explain why it needs new revenue to staff a single ambulance.
If debt and pension costs keep ballooning unchecked, the streaming tax won't be the last new fee suburbanites see. Chicago has plenty more from which to choose.
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