From the Tax Foundation:
2013 Cigarette Tax Rates, Smuggling Percentages, and Changes Since 2006
Smuggling in Illinois has also increased dramatically, from 1.1 percent to 20.9 percent since
the last data release. This is likely related to the fact that the Illinois state cigarette tax rate
was hiked from $0.98 to $1.98 in mid-2012. This increase in smuggling may continue in
future data editions, as more recent increases in both the Cook County rate (from $2.00
to $3.00 per pack, effective March 1, 2013) and the Chicago municipal rate (from $0.68
to $1.18, effective January 10, 2014) have brought the combined state-county-municipal
rate in the city of Chicago to $6.16 per pack of cigarettes, the highest combined rate in the
country.2
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It has to be higher now, considering the 2019 cigarette tax hike from Politics and Government Chronicle:
“Also starting July 1, the tax on a pack of cigarettes will increase to $2.98, up from $1.98, while a separate state law would prevent anybody under the age of 21 from purchasing cigarettes. The tax increase is expected to generate about $159 million in revenue for the next fiscal year, all of which would go to the capital infrastructure plan.”
