Nearly three months removed from the initial call for review of the property tax system, Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios refuses to provide a timeline for completion and release.
The average salary for Cook County workers has far outpaced that of the typical Cook County household since 2001, and that’s contributed to the county’s fiscal ills.
If aggrieved taxpayers don’t also demand fixes to underlying spending problems, calls for additional tax hikes will return. And they’ll be stronger than ever.
The Cook County Board Finance Committee voted Oct. 10 in favor of an ordinance to repeal the unpopular sweetened beverage tax. The repeal measure now awaits a vote before the full board.
A We Ask America poll shows 87.5 percent of respondents think Cook County commissioners support the sweetened beverage tax for reasons other than health.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.