Fair
40°
Crystal Lake, IL
Fair|Forecast »

$3B Cook County budget includes new taxes

CHICAGO – The Cook County Board has approved a nearly $3 billion budget that includes a $1-a-pack tax hike on cigarettes and a $25 tax on firearms purchased at suburban gun shops.

The county's budget passed on a 16-1 vote. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle thanked commissioners after the Friday vote, saying she appreciated the "cooperative and collaborative" budget process. The budget notably did not include a Preckwinkle-supported controversial nickel-per-bullet tax. She dropped that tax idea last week.

Cook County — the nation's second-largest county — faces a budget shortfall of more than $260 million. Other new taxes include a $1,000 tax on casino slot machines and $200 on video gambling machines in suburban bars and restaurants.

Story Archived

Only the most recent 7 days of articles are available for free. For articles older than 7 days there is a small fee for retrieval from our archive. If you are a registered member of the site, the content is free just by signing in below.

Please sign in with your Comment Member ID and password.

Did you purchase access?

Member ID:
Password:
Forgot Your Password?
Register to comment.

Purchase Access
To allow for flexibility, we offer a variety of options for purchasing articles:
Purchase options


Having trouble?

If you have any technical difficulties, either with your username and password or with the payment options, please contact us by e-mail at archivedesk@shawmedia.com


Reader Poll

Which gaming system do you own?

Xbox
Wii
PlayStation
other
more than one