Some Illinois residents could see prices of a variety of items increase in coming weeks after tax rates were raised as part of budget negotiations.

That budget, which passed the General Assembly over the weekend, includes more than $55 billion in spending, with Democrats praising the bill as being the state’s seventh consecutive balanced budget thanks to increases in revenue.

“The passage of the FY26 balanced budget is a testament to Illinois’ fiscal responsibility,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a statement. “Even in the face of Trump and Congressional Republicans stalling the national economy, our state budget delivers for working families without raising their taxes while protecting the progress we are making for our long-term fiscal health. I’m grateful to Speaker Welch, President Harmon, the budget teams, and all the legislators and stakeholders who collaborated to shape and pass this legislation. I look forward to signing my seventh balanced budget in a row and continuing to build a stronger Illinois.”

While some of that revenue will come from increases in corporate tax rates, delaying the transfer of funds from motor fuel taxes into the state’s road fund and other maneuvers, there are several taxes that could increase prices on some items and services for Illinois residents, drawing withering criticism from Republicans in Springfield.

Here are a few of the notable changes.

Sports Betting

Illinois officials are hoping to raise more than $36 million in yearly revenue by assessing a per-wager tax on sports bets placed within the state, according to multiple reports, including from Casino Beats.

Beginning July 1, the state will impose a tax of $0.25 per wager for the first 20 million wagers placed with licensed sports books within Illinois. After that, the tax rate will increase to $0.50 per wager, according to the text of the amendment to the tax code.

That money will then be deposited into the state’s General Revenue Fund.

Short-Term Rental Properties

Residents who use services like Airbnb and Vrbo for vacation rentals will soon be charged with the state’s Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax, as an exemption carved out into the tax code was deleted during budget negotiations.

According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the state taxes hotel rooms at a rate of 6% of 94% of gross receipts. In the city of Chicago, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which helps to operate Rate Field, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which operates McCormick Place, also collect taxes on hotels. The city itself also assesses a 1% tax on hotel rooms.

More information can be found on the IDOR website.

Tobacco Products

Finally, the state intends to raise tax rates on any “product that is made from or derived from tobacco,” including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, vaping products and nicotine gum, according to legislators.

That tax will not be applied to smoking cessation products, according to the text of the bill.

The tax rate will be raised from 36% of the wholesale price of the products to 45%, according to the legislation.

Other Revenue Generators

In addition to raising corporate tax rates, the state of Illinois will also hope to generate revenues from a tax amnesty program, rewarding companies for repatriating funds into the state.

Illinois state lawmakers’ spending plan surpasses last year’s budget by $2 billion, requiring taxpayers to pay over $800 million in additional costs for yet another year of record spending.

With just over 24 hours to conduct a full review, the Illinois General Assembly approved a record-setting $55.2 billion budget for 2026, after a 75-41 House vote sent the 3,000-plus page plan to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. lt follows a familiar fiscal playbook: spend more, fix nothing, hand taxpayers the bill – and toss in a raise for those casting the votes.

To cover the rising costs of education, state pensions and health benefits for government workers, the budget uses short-sighted fixes and ignores structural problems. Once again, it’s taxpayers who will pay the price.

Just before its deadline, Illinois lawmakers passed a record $55.2 billion budget, featuring over $394 million in tax increases, $237 million in fund sweeps and $216 million in delaying funds.

Despite lawmaker claims of budget cuts, the 2026 budget increased by $2 billion compared to 2025. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has grown Illinois’ budget by $16 billion and enacted over 50 tax hikes since taking office in 2019.

Notably, the budget cuts the state’s Property Tax Relief Grant, resulting in an effective $43 million property tax hike. Lawmakers will also receive more than $6,000 in pay raises for the coming year, while public pensioners will receive a benefit spike valued at more than $13 billion. Meanwhile, the budget contributes $5 billion less in pension funding than is necessary to keep the system solvent for future retirees, according to the pension system’s actuaries.

On the revenue side the budget features more than $800 million in revenue gimmicks featuring tax hikes, fund sweeps and temporary measures that fail to truly balance the state’s budget. The process was so rushed that even bill sponsors seem unclear on the exact amount taxpayers will be asked to pay.  Among the revenue adjustments are:

• $195 million – $228 million from a new tax amnesty program.
• $171 million from delaying motor fuels tax revenue transfers to the Road Fund.
• $237 million in fund sweeps.
• $72 million in corporate tax hikes.
• $45 million from shorting the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund.
• $36 million from a new sports wagering tax.
• $15 million from removing hotel tax exemptions from short term rental platforms.
• An additional tax on nicotine analogs.

The 2026 budget continues Illinois’ practice of irresponsible and speculative budgeting. Rather than focusing on policy solutions such as a spending cap, right-sizing employee health care costs and constitutional pension reform, lawmakers have opted for a status quo budget. Constantly relying on taxes and fund sweeps encourages irresponsible budgeting, which erodes voters’ trust in Springfield. These tactics reduce the state’s competitiveness, risk potential credit downgrades and can worsen Illinois’ challenges with high unemployment and sluggish growth.

Illinois’ 2026 budget continues the state’s habit of patching budget problems using short-sighted fixes with long-term consequences. Without structural solutions, such as adopting a spending cap and constitutional pension reform, Illinois has continued its cycle of reactive budgeting at taxpayers’ expense.