A group of Illinois lawmakers recently introduced a measure to immediately repeal the one-cent-per-ounce Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax.
State Reps. Christine Winger (R-Bloomingdale), Michael McAuliffe (R-Chicago), Peter Breen (R-Lombard), Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) and Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) said House Bill 4082 would prevent any home rule county from imposing a tax on sweetened beverages based on volume sold. They added that the measure applies to any county ordinance adopted on or before the effective date of the bill, repealing the existing Cook County ordinance.
The tax currently results in Cook County consumers paying on average 67 percent more for a 2-liter of soda, 43 percent more for a gallon of juice drink or sweetened iced tea, and 29 percent more for a 12-pack.
“Longstanding small businesses that have been pivotal in the community are going to suffer, especially when residents can walk less than a mile to a different store in a county that isn’t affected by the tax to buy their goods,” Winger said. “Residents will choose a different store over one they have gone to for years to avoid paying this. I have heard first-hand the severity this tax has already had in its first two weeks. Some say sales have already dropped 80 percent on certain products.”
An economic analysis in 2016 determined the beverage tax, which Cook County estimates to provide $67.5 million in new revenue in 2017 and $200.6 million in 2018, could result in a loss of 6,100 jobs, $321 million in lost wages and $1.3 billion in lost economic activity.