I'm not arguing for the tax...just saying that if Cook County expects to raise $200 million per year, and actually gets "only" $170 million, they would be delighted.

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But if their income on the standard tax is reduced by $80 million due to people grocery shopping outside of the county, and 2,000 jobs have been lost and 50,000 people have moved out of the county then it maybe isn't as successful as it might look at first glance.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

People are driving to Indiana for pop now and they are doing all their grocery shopping out there if they are close enough. The stores in the city and all around Cook county are losing out while Will County is gaining from Cook's stupidity again.

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Rick will be along shortly to tell these people how stupid they are

and that gain gets wiped out when the entire grocery trip (which would still have Cook County sales tax) is then done in another county, which then gets the sales tax and increase in business.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Not stupid. They just need to reevaluate how they got themselves to the position where they are driving out of state to buy sugar water.

It's always been cheaper to shop outside of Cook County. If this is what drove you over the edge then you either drink way too much soda or you are pretty desperate to save $20 a month.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Yes, believe it or not there are people that need to save $20 a month.

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Philly's tax being discussed right now on CNBC.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Indiana has a state sales tax of 7% with no local sales tax.
Most places in Cook County are 9% to 11% in sales tax. We will use Chicago at a 10.25% rate.

That's a 3.25% difference. Why not go already?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If you're the type of nerd who does a cost-benefit analysis on your shopping habits and how far you would drive to save money, this could have been the tipping point, especially if you can fill up on an empty tank in Indiana as well while doing this.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

On a $200 trip, that $6.50 in sales tax may not have been worth the extra 15 minutes each way. Add on the soda tax and cheaper gas and you may then find the trip to now become worthwhile at that point.

Plus you will often find the items priced lower as well as there is often a higher mark-up in Cook County.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Well, then drink water or flavor your own water.

$20 a month savings in soda is 2,000 ounces or 166 cans of soda a month. If we say that a 24 pack is $5 that is $34 a month plus whatever taxes you already pay on it.

Looks like I just saved them almost $40 a month!

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

You'd have to drink a lot of soda to make an extra 30 minutes total drive because each 24 pack you buy costs an extra $2.88. You get in traffic one time which would be pretty likely going to and from Indiana and your ice cream melts and your chicken sits at room temperature in your car and you may think twice.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Add to that the fact that humans are not robots and don't do everything based on science and logic -- just look at how long Dusty Baker leaves in starting pitchers for example.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

Going to be in Will County Sunday. Will do all my shopping there. Fuck Cook County.


After threatening thousands of job cuts, President Preckwinkle agrees to a lucrative contract with one of Cook County’s unions.

After claiming more than 1,000 jobs would be lost, if the sweetened beverage tax was not implemented, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle negotiated a generous new deal with one of the county’s unions. In the end, Teamsters Union Local 700, which represents 3,500 guards and other security personnel, ended up with a slew of new perks including: payment for attending roll call, eliminating the cap on the use of personal time, a $1,200-per-person signing bonus, no increase in health care premiums, and 4 percent in additional salary increases, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.

This contract agreement comes only weeks after the implementation of Cook County’s sweetened beverage tax, commonly called the “soda tax.” Cook County expects to receive $67.5 million in soda tax revenue for the remainder of 2017 and another $200 million in 2018. The county has claimed 1,100 government workers would be laid off if the tax was not implemented. While some workers were laid off, the county managed to rescind other layoffs.

In November 2016, the Teamsters came out in support of the beverage tax to “guarantee job security for hundreds of people that work in Cook County.” Additionally, the Teamsters Local 700 Political Action Committee has contributed more than $10,000 to Cook County commissioners since 2016. Preckwinkle’s candidate committee has received $6,000 from the Teamsters Local 700 PAC since June 2016.

Still, a bipartisan group of Cook County commissioners filed an ordinance to repeal the unpopular tax amidst a public outcry against excessive taxation and bureaucratic insensitivities in Chicago and greater Cook County.

With each passing day, it is becoming clearer that the beverage tax was never about public health. It is simply a money grab used to benefit government and those connected to it.

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I think it is interesting that so many choose to live in Cook County and they hate it. At least Ogie moved to a souless hellscape instead of spending their Saturdays going far distances to buy soda.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

That is how you would manage a windfall of money, not a government that has fucked themselves into billions of debt. They project a 200 million tax, and will then spend an additional 220 million. Next year, the budget gap will widen an extra 50 million with the tax increase.

You're welcome to visit just so you can see it isn't he soulless hellscape you think it is. I'll even buy you a growler from one of our new micro-breweries.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Cook County registered voters poll by We Ask America…

In general, do you APPROVE, or DISAPPROVE of the job Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle is doing?

• Approve 21.12%
• Disapprove 67.98%
• No opinion 10.90%

Do you AGREE, or DISAGREE with the following statement: “I will probably vote to re-elect Toni Preckwinkle as County Board President no matter who is running against her.”

• Agree 16.18%
• Disagree 75.06%
• Unsure 8.76%

Does that fact that Toni Preckwinkle cast the deciding vote that created the Cook County beverage tax make you MORE LIKELY or LESS LIKELY to vote to re-elect her?

• More likely to re elect 10.00%
• Less likely to re elect 84.49%
• No difference 5.51%

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

I know it doesn't seem like it but I am not certain the soda tax is a good idea. I just think that Chicago should try and figure out a way to get out of their financial mess and if this helps then that is fine. If the repealed it and replaced it with an income, property, or sales tax increase I'm sure people would still complain. At least this is mostly avoidable.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

What you wrote there is what drives people mad and breaks them.

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Just an FYI, but that approval rating is significantly lower than Trump's own abysmal approval rating.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Well I guess you will have to update us on this when people actually vote. Seems to me they just pull the same old lever.

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I need to know how many people were polled !!!

1,119 voters.

And I agree, she would have to be defeated in the primaries -- the lever pullers are going to elect the Democrat candidate.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

Ad copy by Score callers! "Yeah everyone's talking about this, how come no one's talking about this?"

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Speaking of "everybody's talking about x," the commercial for New Lenox claims "everybody is talking about New Lenox." They are?

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Talk more Sugar Tax! Stop talking Sugar Tax!

"New Lenox! Cheap, shoddy big houses (Pulte?!?!) that are just far enough apart you'll never have to interact with your neighbors! For middle class people who hate people!"

There I talked about New Lenox.

Well, there's been a lot of talk about opioid addiction ravaging the exurbs.

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