Elgin City Council delays vote on plastic shopping bag ban

Elgin City Council members have postponed a vote on a proposed plastic shopping bag ban to give business owners opposed to the idea the opportunity to attend a meeting and voice their opinions in person.

The proposed ordinance would ban single-use plastic checkout bags at larger retailers and place a 10-cent fee on paper bags at checkout.

Originally, the city informed stakeholders that the issue would be on the Feb. 25 city council agenda. But the vote got moved up to Wednesday night’s meeting.

Elgin Development Group Director Tony Lucenko said he reached out to business owners who are concerned about the fees. But most were unable to attend this week’s council meeting.

“I would respectfully request that this be deferred until the next meeting so that we can bring to the table those people who are expressing their interests in not seeing this go forward,” Lucenko said.

The council voted 6-3 to delay the issue until Feb. 25. Council members Corey Dixon, Tish Powell and John Steffen opposed the delay.

While the city has considered action on bag fees or bans for about nine years, the Sustainability Commission last brought the issue to the city council in April 2025.

The council, in turn, directed city staff to draft an ordinance that mirrors an Illinois Senate bill introduced by state Sen. Cristina Castro of Elgin. If passed, SB 1872 would prohibit retailers from offering single-use bags to consumers starting in 2029.

Staff from the city and the Elgin Development Group identified 42 Elgin-based retailers that could be banned from supplying single-use plastic bags to their customers at checkout under the proposed municipal ordinance.

It would exempt restaurants, gas station convenience stores and “small retail mercantile establishments” from the single-use plastic ban.

Under the proposal, retailers would be allowed to offer a recycled paper bag for 10 cents, with the fee being retained by the retailer. SNAP, WIC, and similar food assistance program recipients would be exempt from paying the fee.

A community survey conducted from October through December found a majority of respondents in opposition to the ordinance, said Kristin Iftner, the city’s sustainability manager.

According to the survey, 57% of the 2,185 respondents opposed the ordinance. Thirty-eight percent approved, and 5% answered that they needed more information.