The Cook County Board, overseeing the 41 percent of Illinoisans who live in Chicago and nearby suburbs, is expected to repeal its 1-cent-per-ounce soda tax during a meeting today, only weeks after it took effect. The change of mind in Cook County, the largest jurisdiction in the nation to tax sugary beverages, is a dramatic defeat for public-health advocates.
On Tuesday, members of the board’s Finance Committee voted, 15-1, to repeal, with final action expected when the board meets today, reports the Chicago Tribune. County Board president Toni Preckwinkle, who proposed the tax as the way to avoid $200 million in cuts to public health and criminal justice programs, has not said whether she would veto a repeal. “Repeal backers, however, have more than the 11 votes it takes to override a veto,” said the Tribune. It quoted board member Sean Morrison as saying, “Opposition has been strong and consistent across the all segments of the county.”
“The … vote today will not change the momentum these common-sense policies have,” said the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest, arguing that the levies encourage consumption of healthy beverages amid an obesity epidemic. In November 2016, San Francisco, Oakland and Albany, Calif., along with Boulder, Colo., approved soda taxes by referendum, joining Berkeley, Calif, and Philadelphia, which had adopted such taxes earlier. Since then, the Seattle City Council approved a 1.75-cent tax on sugary beverages while voters in Santa Fe, NM, defeated a 2-cent tax.
The American Beverage Association funded a multimillion-dollar campaign for repeal in Cook County, said the Tribune.