Sangamon County voters approved a 0.50% sales tax hike that will go towards funding a 708 Mental Health Board.
Consumers will now pay 50 cents more on a $100 purchase of some general retail goods.
The vote garnered 53% on its first try with strong bipartisan support throughout the county.
More: Voters will consider sales tax proposal to fund mental health board
The sales tax rate will increase to 10.25% in Springfield and 11.25% in the South Central Business District, some of the highest rates in the state.
Dr. Kari Wolf, chair of psychiatry at the SIU School of Medicine a commissioner with the Sangamon County Mental Health Commission, makes a point at the Oct. 1, 2025, meeting. The commission recommended to the Sangamon County Board a 0.5% sales tax increase to help fund a countywide mental health board.
The average sales tax rate is 8.3%.
Items exempt from the sales tax include groceries, medical equipment, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medication and anything that is purchased through a title, such as vehicles, trailers and motor homes.
“Tonight, more than 17,000 voters across Sangamon County delivered an extraordinary, history-making victory — and with it, a solemn responsibility to strengthen the local systems that support families facing mental illness, substance use disorders and developmental disabilities,” said Ryan Croke, a Vote Yes for Mental Health volunteer and a Springfield resident. “This win puts us on a path to make our neighborhoods safer and healthier.”
Supporters estimate the tax will raise $14.72 million annually for the board, which would coordinate and fund a network of mental health providers. A staff person would be hired but a nine-member board responsible for public reports and audits would be all-volunteer.
The “708” refers to House Bill 708, also known as “the Community Mental Health Act.”
Sangamon was “by far the largest county” in Illinois that doesn’t have a local dedicated source of funding for a mental health board, said Ryan Croke, a Vote Yes for Mental Health volunteer and a Springfield resident.
There are 95 such mental health boards in Illinois, 66 of them operated at the county level.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New sales tax hike coming in Sangamon County