Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle resorted to the same tired formula that has all but bankrupted Chicago.

An analysis of Chicago’s taxation and revenue in perspective

Buying local just got a lot less appealing for Chicagoans. The city reclaimed the highest sales-tax rate of any major city in the nation on July 15, when the Cook County Board, which oversees Illinois’ largest city, voted to raise its portion of the sales tax, bringing Chicago’s combined rate to 10.25 percent from 9.25...

Health nuts and anti-tobacco fanatics, get out your streamers and champagne: Cook County’s new $1 per pack cigarette tax hike goes into effect today. Contrary to the so-called health conscious intentions of this tax’s creators, however, Cook County smokers will continue to buy cigarettes. Lots of them. Last year, Cook County brought in approximately $115 million...

Taxes are about to go up again on many items for Cook County residents under the county’s 2013 budget. The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a $2.95 billion budget for fiscal year 2013 by a landslide 16-1 vote last week. The budget includes a series of new revenue initiatives– a $1 per pack tax...

Cook County faces a projected $267.5 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2013. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has a solution: Fill the gap with higher taxes on cigarettes, guns, ammo, gambling and businesses. “We have structural problems that demand structural solutions” Preckwinkle said. The problems are structural, but Preckwinkle’s solutions are not. Tinkering with the tax...

by Kristina Rasmussen The Cook County Board of Commissioners is looking at a broad array of tax and fee hikes to make up for a budget shortfall, and significant increases for wine, beer, and liquor taxes are all on the menu. These tax hikes pose a direct threat to local bar and restaurant operators, many of...

Newly elected Board President Toni Preckwinkle is saying and doing the right things when it comes to solving a budget crisis.