Chambana Sun

Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur)  believes that inflation is having a big impact on the working class.

"Every day I hear from people complaining about price increases and how it’s making such a dent in their incomes. We can fix that, and we’ve called for a special session in Springfield for the governor to work with the EPA to lower certain costs, but I think he’s more interested in running for president than running Illinois," Caulkins said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) summary on July 13, which found that costs have risen 9.1% in the last year, marking a 40-year high. In the last month, the cost of energy increased by 7.5%, gas prices rose 11.2%, and the cost of food increased by 1%. In the last year, the cost of gas has risen by 59.9%, while food prices have increased by 10.4%.

Business owners, facing increased costs in supplies, shipping, and other expenditures, could be forced to cut jobs, according to the Center Square. Todd Maisch, CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, said "the question for policy makers in Illinois" is whether they are going to raise taxes because of inflation, "or are we going to weather the storm and show that government can be on sound fiscal footing."

Illinoisans are paying an average of $4,386 more in 2022 than they paid in 2021 for the same goods and services due to price increases, according to Illinois Policy. The average Illinois resident will pay an extra $1,122 for gas this year, while also spending an additional $504 on groceries and $280 for utilities. These extra costs mean many people will dip into their savings and skip some recreational activities.