Frequently Asked Questions

The County School Facilities Tax, modeled after a very successful program in the state of Iowa, was created in 2007 as a way to provide revenue to support improvements in school facilities and shift away from relying on property taxes for local school district funding in Illinois. It is a sales tax of up to one percent on selected retail purchases (see below). Importantly among the items not taxed are groceries, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications.

All across Illinois, there has been a call for property tax relief. The CSFT was passed in response to that call. Traditionally school building improvements have been funded through property taxes. By passing the CSFT, much of the burden for funding public school district facility improvements can be shifted to the sales tax – and a sales tax that is very equitable and fair in its design (see informational about what is and what is not taxed elsewhere in this document).

To be implemented, CSFT must be passed by a countywide vote. School boards, representing a majority of all resident student enrollment, pass resolutions to place the proposal on the ballot. All Effingham County School District Board of Educations have passed a resolution to place the proposal on the November 2024 ballot.

If that ballot proposal is approved by a majority of voters, the one-cent sales tax goes into existence. The revenue from the tax is apportioned by student count within the county. For example, if a district has 10% of the students in the county, it gets 10% of the revenue. Every school district in the county gets to decide for themselves how their CSFT will be spent based on their specific needs.

Illinois law is very clear about how the CSFT revenue can be used. Revenue from this one percent sales tax can only be used for improving school facilities, retiring new or current building bonds, or for school resource officers and mental health professionals. It cannot be used for general school salaries, instructional materials, or other operating costs. Specifically, some examples of what the funding can support include:

• Safety and security upgrades
• Classrooms and labs to accommodate best practices in education
• Consolidation of aging K-2 facilities into new school for greater efficiency and lower overall operating costs
• Educational spaces in media centers for student collaboration
• Consolidation and expansion of daycare and Pre-K facilities
• Mental health professionals and school resource officers

Items normally subject to sales tax and included in the CSFT with some major exceptions. Very importantly, groceries and prescription and over-the-counter drugs are not taxed. That is a large part of why so many regard this tax as fair and not regressive. Other items NOT TAXED include:

• Cars, trucks, ATV’s, boats, and RV’s
• Mobile homes
• Unprepared foods (at the grocery store, a loaf of bread and deli meat is not taxed, a prepared sandwich at the grocery is taxed)
• Drugs (including over-the-counter and vitamins)
• Farm equipment and parts
• Farm inputs
• Services (accounting, legal, etc.)
• Anything purchased at the wholesale level

If it is currently not taxed by sales tax, it is generally not taxed by CSFT. Online sales are taxed (that was effective beginning of January 1, 2021 excepting those items mentioned above).

Items below are examples of what CSFT would cost on some purchases:

• McDonald’s meal $6 = 6¢
• TV at Walmart $200 = $2
• Ground beef at Walmart = not taxed
• Gasoline $18 = 18¢
• Haircut = not taxed
• Amazon $100 = $1
• $10,000 of annual purchases (excluding food and medicine) at Walmart = $100

As of today, more than half of Illinois counties (57 or 102) have passed this tax. (See map CSFT Map 9.13.24.png). When you drive through these counties, you can see schools that were built or renovated as a result of this new source of school district revenue.

Quite a few counties that border Effingham County have passed the CSFT – Fayette, Jasper, Shelby, and Cumberland. Of the five counties “touching” Effingham, only Clay has not passed the CSFT. Larger mid-Illinois counties that have the CSFT include Champaign, Sangamon, Peoria, and Macon. Examples of close-by schools built or renovated with the CSFT can be found in Richland County, Mt. Zion, Mahomet-Seymour, Champaign and many other school districts.

The CSFT has been on the ballot three times in Effingham County. The most recent election was April 2019 when the proposal received 45.4% support in a very low turnout election. In the meantime, many counties across Illinois have passed the proposal. Currently over half of Illinois counties have passed this measure, with more to come.

Because Effingham is at the crossroads of two major interstate highways, it receives higher per capita sales tax revenue than does the vast majority of counties in Illinois. Much of our sales tax revenue is imported from those who travel through, but don’t live in, our county. These “visitors” can help pay for our schools should the CSFT pass. Current projects are that school districts will annually receive about $1,700 dollars for every enrolled student. For many counties across Illinois, the comparable amount is less than $1,000 and in some cases under $500. Based on current projections, this measure will generate over $8 million for Effingham County schools.

The ballot wording is very confusing, so it is important that residents have a high level of familiarity with it and understand what it means. The word is:

“Shall a retailer’s occupation tax and a service occupation tax (commonly referred to as a ‘sale tax’) be imposed in Effingham County at a rate of 1% to be used exclusively for school facility purposes, school resource offices, and mental health professionals.”

This is a lot of words to describe what most people call a one percent (or one-cent) sales tax.

The CSFT is on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot. That is the same date as the presidential election. Turnout should be high. We think all votes should weigh-in on this important decision.