In Illinois, tea bags are generally considered a grocery item and are taxed at the state's reduced food and beverage rate, which is currently 1%. This reduced rate applies to most unprepared food items, including tea bags, as they are classified as food products.

For groceries like tea bags in Chicago, there is no additional Chicago city-specific tax beyond the 1% reduced food and beverage rate applied at the state level.

Chicago does have city-specific sales taxes that apply to general merchandise and prepared food, but for unprepared food items like tea bags, the total rate remains at 1%, with no extra city tax imposed on top of that.