Peoria Standard

In a Nov. 18 Facebook post, Rep. Ryan Spain shared information on what inflation has done to the price of a Thanksgiving dinner. Spain has served in the Illinois House of Representatives since 2017.

"The Consumer Price Index shows that all food has increased by 0.7 percent from August to September of this year while prices are 11.2 percent higher than they were in September 2021," Spain said posted on Facebook. 

In his post, Spain shared a story from WGN9 that looked at how much the grocery order from Kevin McCallister in the 1990 "Home Alone" movie would cost today. 

"While supply chain struggles are still leaving some shelves bare, we were able to grab all but one item Kevin bought in the film at the Rockford Schnucks location on Charles Street in Rockford, Illinois, roughly 90 miles outside of Chicago (where the film is set). The store was completely out of Snuggle dryer sheets, which the chain sells for $6.09, so we grabbed a bottle of Snuggle Blue Sparkle fabric softener for $7.49 to keep branding as consistent as possible. Kevin bought a four-roll pack of Quilted Northern toilet paper in “Home Alone,” but a four-pack was nowhere to be found in any brand," Spain said. "The Quilted Northern six-roll pack Schnucks sells for $6.09 was also out, so we chose a six-pack of Essential Everyday Ultra Soft TP for $9.84. Schnucks doesn’t carry Wonder Bread at the moment, so we opted for a loaf of Butternut white for $2.79. Here’s the rest of our order: 52-ounce jug of Tropicana orange juice, $5.14; half-gallon of Prairie Farms whole milk, $4.29; Glad cling wrap, $2.64; 46-ounce Tide original detergent, $10.64; Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, $1.69; and a Stouffer’s Roast Turkey frozen dinner for $3. Why is used cooking grease stolen from restaurants? Our subtotal was $47.52, $50.20 with tax. Add the bag of Army men we ordered from Amazon and we gave a total of $57.27. That’s not too far off how the U.S. Inflation Calculator has tracked price increases over the last 30 years."

Illinois Policy reported in July that Illinois residents would pay $522 more for their groceries this year. 

"Illinoisans are paying $522 more for the same grocery items they bought last year," the report said. "Prices on food for home consumption have risen by 12.2% from June 2021 to June 2022, hitting Illinois families hard. June’s overall 9.1% annual inflation rate was the highest in more than 40 years, creating sticker shock at the grocery store. Not all grocery groups have risen at the same rate. Of the major expenditure categories, meats, poultry, fish and eggs make up the largest chunk of the increase in grocery bills and will cost the typical Illinoisan $115 more this year."