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Illinois

* AP…

Inflation means stocking up on pencils, notebooks, crayons and clothes for your kids’ return to school is more expensive this year, so Illinois state leaders on Thursday offered a 10-day sales tax reduction on classroom needs.

Beginning Friday, the state sales tax on school materials, including clothing, will be 1.25% for 10 days, down from the usual 6.25%, part of an inflation relief plan put together by Democrats who control the General Assembly. They have said it’s possible because of four consecutive balanced budgets under Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Teachers will also get a break on classroom materials with a $250 tax credit this year and $500 in 2023.

“These past two-and-a-half years — for everyone — of managing through the pandemic has been hard,” Pritzker said Thursday at Roosevelt Elementary School in Broadview, a suburb west of Chicago. “And the last nine months of inflation on top of that has strained the budgets of parents and teachers alike.”

* The Question: What do you remember most about back to school shopping when you were a kid?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:29 pm

Comments

New husky pants from Sears Roebuck and Co!

Comment by Chito Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:31 pm
I remember hating clothes shopping. Hot, tired and knowing that summer was over made for a miserable experience

Comment by Sox Fan Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:34 pm
Toughskins from Sears.

No need for a hanger, just stand them up in your closet.

Comment by Flying Elvis'-Utah Chapter Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:37 pm
New toughskins and shoes from Sears.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:37 pm
Sox Fan hits it out of the park.
” Hot, tired and knowing that summer was over made for a miserable experience”

Comment by Bruce( no not him) Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:38 pm
Toughskins, lol.
Also had to have a new pair of canvas Converse from Fishman’s Sporting Goods in downtown Spfld.

Comment by danray Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:40 pm
New BIC pens, folders, and cutting up brown paper bags to make book covers..

Comment by NotRich Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:41 pm
Going to Sears on Second and South Grand in SPI to get new shoes and school clothes. They had the X15 rocket shoes the cool kids all wore.

Comment by Give Me A Break Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:42 pm
Not sure but now it s when the back to school back pack giveaways begin

Comment by Early Wynn Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:43 pm
Art supplies and gym clothes/shoes. The other stuff reminded of drudgery.

Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:43 pm
=== New husky pants from … ===

Trying to find them was my nightmare. Argh.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:47 pm
I always loved shopping for more “professional” looking office supplies as a kid. At 10 years old, I was the only kid to exclusively have mechanical pencils instead of wooden ones.

The fancy supplies didn’t help my grades at all, but I loved having quality pencils/pens, etc.

Comment by Homebody Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:49 pm
Off-brand Converse Chuck Taylors from Cook’s Discount store at Meadowdale Shopping Center in the burbs. But always a 64-color set of crayons with the built-in sharpener.

Comment by Dysfunction Junction Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:55 pm
Watching the circulars for Venture and Zayre so we could maximize the savings. My mother was an expert at making sure we had everything we could possibly need for the school year by Labor Day.

Comment by aaricka34 Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:55 pm
Heading to Farm & Fleet for husky jeans shopping.

Comment by ChicagoVinny Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:56 pm
Would have been nice had they figured this out earlier and for longer.

In all seriousness raising children throughout this pandemic has been hard.

Comment by The Dude Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 3:59 pm
I remember once coming home after the last day of school, reaching for the box of Pop Tarts and reading on the back of the box “Back to School Special Offer.” Well, ok, it’s not shopping, but it was memorable.

Comment by Skeptic Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:04 pm
I remember sincerely thinking that if I didn’t get the “cool” binders, pens, folders, etc then I would be ostracized at school. It only occured to me later that I was silyl for giving a darn about the opinion of other fourth graders about my stuff.

Comment by Commissar Gritty Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:04 pm
Going to Wieboldts to buy yellow shirts for good old St Itas grammar school

Comment by Regular democrat Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:06 pm
Sticking your feet in the fluroscope to be sure there was enough toe room in your school shoes.

This practice also exposed children, parents, and store clerks to unnecessary radiation. Oy vey.

Comment by Rudy’s teeth Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:08 pm
Back to school was the worst time of year for me. I lived in denial all through early August. Starting a new school year depressed me so badly that I was well into my 20s before I could enjoy fall.

The weird thing was, I was a straight-A student and never in trouble. I just…didn’t want to be there. And knowing that I had to spend the next nine months in that classroom made me sad.

Comment by Benjamin Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:16 pm
Two words: Trapper Keeper

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:17 pm
The rich kids got the 64 pack of crayons. We got the smaller pack. Ending up with jeans from Sears when I wanted Levis from Myers Brothers.

Comment by Facts Matter Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:17 pm
Pants from Sears … with double knees.

Comment by Anyone Remember Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:17 pm
New shoes, one new pair of pants, two new shirts. There was no bargaining with the powers that be (i.e., Mom) on this topic.

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:23 pm
Having to buy the pre-packaged set of school supplies specifically for my grade at the local dime store. I always wanted interesting pencils, or a fun colored folder or something.

Comment by notsosure Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:27 pm
Yes, Benjamin, I was exactly like that, too. On the plus side, school shopping was nearly the only time we left the local area. We went all the way to Terre Haute, where I experienced my first elevator and escalator. Magic, they were. I was mildly scolded for riding the escalator over and over.

Comment by Don't Bloc Me In Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:28 pm
For some reason my strongest memory is always having to slightly upgrade my graphing calculator, at great cost and for dubious functionality purposes.

Comment by vern Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:30 pm
Catholic school, so no clothes shopping, but we did have to buy books, and then covering them with brown paper from shopping bags.

Comment by Banish Misfortune Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:32 pm
Driving my mother crazy because, until at least 1984, I refused to consider anything other than blue jeans and plaid shirts. But at the end of any trip to Marshall Field’s was a Frango Mint bar, so there was that.

Comment by Northsider Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:32 pm
New Toughskins and gym shoes at Sears. JC Penney Plain Pockets in Jr. High were the first wardrobe upgrade.

Comment by SAP Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:37 pm
-Two words: Trapper Keeper-

Yep. Can still hear the velcro. Also was never organized enough to actually use.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:42 pm
Going to Kmart for a pair of black canvas converse tennis shoes.

Comment by Al Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:50 pm
=The fancy supplies didn’t help my grades at all, but I loved having quality pencils/pens, etc.=

That is so awesome.

Lots of great memories sparked by this fun question. Thanks Rich, I needed this one today.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:54 pm
New rides for the feet, new folders, loose leaf paper, and gym uniforms.

Toughskins? Yep. Even the jacket? Yep. Even the jacket.

:)

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:55 pm
~~The rich kids got the 64 pack of crayons. We got the smaller pack.~~

Yikes. That brought back a repressed memory of never being able to get the Crayola’s and having to get the off brand crayons.

Comment by jimbo Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 4:58 pm
Going to the local (now long gone) department store where the school supply list for each grade hung in the back-to-school section and working through the list. Trapper Keepers were never on the list, so I never got one.

And school uniforms. Banned words school uniforms.

Comment by Montrose Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 5:07 pm
I loved rulers. There was always something precise and reassuring about being able to draw a straight line with a ruler.

When we were kids, the local Coca Cola bottling plant ran a promotion. For every “A” on your report card, you got a prize, a new ruler, or tablet. Of course everything had “Coca Cola” printed on it.

Lots of us brought Coca Cola rulers to school, eliminating the need to buy a new one.

Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 5:20 pm
New pencil boxes to store my pencils and erasers.

Comment by Democrat Grrrl Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 5:28 pm
Going to either Monkey Wards in LaGrange or Sears at North and Harlem in Elmwood Park for blue shirts and dark blue pants for Catholic school required boys wear. Ties would last for years.

Comment by West Side the Best Side Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 6:08 pm
You had to get the list from the school and class of what you needed and then start the process. Marking off all the items as you got them at the store. You had to get those crayons, colored pencils, water based paint sets. What and joy and how simple life was then. You went to the store nothing online, no one had a cell phone with internet to check things, and then you counted the days till summer break was over.

Comment by clec dcn Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 6:36 pm
I remember going with my mom to find charcoal and ochre to draw mastodons and oryxes on the cave walls.

Comment by up2now Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 6:39 pm
Wasn’t so much a shopping memory, but I was the only kid that used his grandpa’s Dutch Masters cigar box to hold my pencils and crayons. I can still remember the smell.

Comment by Slugger O'Toole Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 7:27 pm
One year, Mom sent us back-to-school clothes shopping with Dad.

We were trying on jeans in a “trendy” store in the mall, when my dad noticed that the belt loops were very narrow.

Dad: “You can’t even put a belt through those!”

Salesman: “Thin belts are very in this year.”

Dad: “Maybe in California!”

We bought our jeans at the western wear store downtown.

– MrJM

Comment by MisterJayEm Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 7:36 pm
Perpetual argument w/ mom: corduroys and plaid pants. No! JC PenneyHunt Club vs. ‘real’ Polo. Sears knockoff vs Ocean Pacific.

And new shoes from Mr Luers.

Comment by Phineas Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 7:52 pm
The crayons it was all about the crayons

Comment by Scott l Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 7:57 pm
Traveling 3 hours to Green Bay so my dad could watch the Packers practice while the rest of us were at a mall for school clothes shopping. (Sorry - that is what first came to mind!)

Comment by Yooper in Diaspora Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 8:21 pm
I remember never worrying how the Governor might mess up the school year.

Comment by Dumb Dupage Mom Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 9:24 pm
=== I remember===

Well, that’s good.

The last pandemic was a century ago.

Living thru one pandemic with a governor saving lives should be enough for anyone, let alone two, amirite?

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 9:33 pm
===I remember going with my mom to find charcoal and ochre to draw mastodons and oryxes on the cave walls.==

Loved this! (in that sad, I am also so old way)

To the post:

Bad memory: toughskins (did they make girl versions or was I shopping in the boy department?)

Good memory: choosing the theme for my folders. Unicorns? Forest? Star Wars? It set the tone for the year, so I had to make the right choice

Comment by Leslie K Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 9:51 pm
And now I’ll try the version without the exclamation point:

===I remember going with my mom to find charcoal and ochre to draw mastodons and oryxes on the cave walls.==

Loved this (in that sad, I am also so old way)

To the post:

Bad memory: toughskins (did they make girl versions or was I shopping in the boy department?)

Good memory: choosing the theme for my folders. Unicorns? Forest? Star Wars? It set the tone for the year, so I had to make the right choice

Comment by Leslie K Thursday, Aug 4, 22 @ 9:53 pm
Sears on Western Ave. My mom would explain that my brother got the slims and I got the huskies because I was “big boned and built for winter”. Lol. Still laugh. And yes the crayons. Great memories.

Comment by Galway Bay Friday, Aug 5, 22 @ 6:14 am
Riding the escalator down into the candy and popcorn at the 2nd street Sears in Springfield, knowing it was not for us. Mom would even give us a preemptive whomp on the butt and instruct us to not make eye contact with the counter personnel.

Comment by MiddleAgedDog Friday, Aug 5, 22 @ 8:43 am
Boy this brings back memories. We weren’t exactly poor but we didn’t have a lot either. I remember going to the local discount clothing store where my Mom would buy clothes with flaws (seconds). My Mom was an excellent seamstress, so she would take the clothes home and sit at her sewing machine and repair whatever flaw the piece of clothing had and then we’d have nice clothes. I also remember getting new canvas Keds and getting the 64 box of Crayolas. I was a good student but didn’t like school until I hit College and then I loved it.

Comment by Manchester Friday, Aug 5, 22 @ 8:44 am
My mom bought me new Levi’s to wear to high school. I decided to make them more fashionable by cutting holes in them. My mom was not happy with my alterations.

Comment by Southern IL Bob Too Friday, Aug 5, 22 @ 8:54 am
Wow! Good memories!

I remember the smell of new supplies. Awww - the smell of pencils and new plastic.

I remember wooden pencil boxes, wrapping hard cover books in brown paper bags so that they could be returned at the end of the school year in good condition.

I remember going to Busta Brown for that one pair of school shoes at Evergreen Plaza and sittin’ on the boat that sat in the middle of the store.

Comment by Virginia Brown Friday, Aug 5, 22 @ 3:34 pm
Myers Brothers downtown Springfield!!!
Then to Sears on 2nd Street - we always stopped for a cheese hot dog.
Couldn’t wait to get a new big box of crayons!!

Comment by Sal Friday, Aug 5, 22 @ 3:36 pm