More than 2,200 Cook County workers receive salaries over $100,000

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

10/06/2017

More than 2,200 Cook County workers receive salaries over $100,000. For career county workers, that means pensions worth millions of dollars over the course of their retirements.

TAGS: 401(k), Cook County, municipal pensions, pensions

Cook County beverage sales decline in wake of pop tax

By Brendan Bakala

09/25/2017

A new report from Can the Tax and the Illinois Food Retailers Association shows that beverage sales for Cook County retailers are down since 2016.

TAGS: Cook County, Illinois Food Retailers Association, soda tax, taxes, Toni Preckwinkle

KFC parent company sued over improper application of Cook County soda tax

By Brendan Bakala

09/22/2017

Cook County’s penny-per-ounce sweetened beverage tax has led to another lawsuit alleging a restaurant applied the tax incorrectly.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, soda tax, taxes

Cook County isn’t buying soda tax health concerns

By Brendan Bakala

09/13/2017

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.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, soda tax, taxes, Toni Preckwinkle

Cook County Board approves soda tax

By Brendan Bakala

11/10/2016

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of new tax on sugary and artificially sweetened beverages.

TAGS: Chicago, Cook County, soda tax, taxes, Toni Preckwinkle

Illinois politicians reintroduce penny-per-ounce ‘sugary drink’ tax

05/23/2016

State lawmakers propose regressive tax on sugary drinks to help fill budget holes created by decades of irresponsible policies.

TAGS: sugar tax, taxes

Protecting diversity, debate in Illinois depends on respecting donor privacy

06/16/2015

People who support popular opinions have little to lose from having their support for those ideas known. It’s the people who are challenging the status quo – like the NAACP during the civil-rights movement – who have to be concerned about harassment and retaliation for their views.

TAGS: donor privacy

NANNY STATE: Cook County joins the war on sugar

By Hilary Gowins

02/15/2013

Officials are hot on the tracks of another menace threatening the well-being of Illinoisans: sugary drinks.

TAGS: Cook County, nanny state

Institute in Real Clear Politics: The Worst is Yet to Come in Illinois

12/31/2010

The Illinois Policy Institute's call to repeal the 66 percent tax increase is featured in an article on state pensions and the tax hike.

$500 Million in Efficiency Savings for NYC

08/02/2010

by Kate Piercy 8,000 vacant desks, nearly 11 percent of the workstations in the city government’s 19 million square feet of office space. Nine separate agencies to handle vehicle maintenance, operating 125 separate maintenance garages, some across the street from each other. Each city agency with its own HR department, with an overall ratio of...

Michael Bloomberg

More than 2,200 Cook County workers receive salaries over $100,000

Cook County beverage sales decline in wake of pop tax

KFC parent company sued over improper application of Cook County soda tax

Cook County isn’t buying soda tax health concerns

Cook County Board approves soda tax

Illinois politicians reintroduce penny-per-ounce ‘sugary drink’ tax

Protecting diversity, debate in Illinois depends on respecting donor privacy

NANNY STATE: Cook County joins the war on sugar

Institute in Real Clear Politics: The Worst is Yet to Come in Illinois

$500 Million in Efficiency Savings for NYC

FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students