North Cook News

Rep.Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) is basking in the glow of the successful repeal of the Cook County soda tax.

“As of December 1, the much-despised soda tax will be gone,” Morrison said in a video on his website. “We all know we should eat and drink in a healthier manner, but this was really about the money. and the taxpayers said enough is enough.”

The Cook County Board voted 15-2 to repeal the 2-month-old 1-cent-per-ounce tax that supporters claimed was instituted primarily based on health concerns.

Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine)

Residents and businesses both rebelled against the tax, which had come to result in many crossing state lines to shop for their beverages as a way of avoiding the tax.  

“This tax was particularly hurtful to those of us in Palatine,” Morrison said. “We are a border community, and it wasn’t just that people were going to buy their beverages north or west of us. They were buying everything. They were making the decision to take their dollars out of the district. That hurts our employers, hurts our employees, and it reduces tax revenue for the county.”

The tax applied to soda, ready-to-drink sweetened coffees and teas, sports and energy drinks, and juice products less than 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.

An Illinois Manufacturers Association survey found that nearly 87 percent of Cook County residents were opposed to the tax, with four out of five saying it was implemented not for health reasons but as a money grab.

According to Illinois Food Retailers Association President Brian Jordan, soda sales at some area stores have been down by as much as 50 percent since the tax was instituted.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the nine Costco locations across Cook County experienced a 34 percent dip in sweetened beverage sales over the life of the law. Store officials claimed the company’s stores just outside of Cook County saw sales increase by 38 percent.

“I am very happy this tax will go away,” Morrison said. “It’s going be one of the shortest taxes around: four months. It should have never been instituted in the first place.  We need to tighten our belts and not just continuously go back to the taxpayer.”