Tinley Tobacco Shops Tell Tale of 2 Counties Over Cigarette Tax (Updated)

A $1-per-pack tax increase was approved by the Cook County Board on Friday as part of its 2013 budget. What will that mean for village smoke shops if it passes?

UPDATED (1:01 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9): The Cook County Board approved its $2.95 billion budget for 2013 on Friday, Nov. 9, according to the Chicago Tribune. That includes the $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase.  Smoking is an expensive habit in Cook County, and if the county board votes to approve its tentative 2013 budget during a special meeting Friday, it's about to become even pricier. In its current form, the county budget includes a $1-per-pack tax increase, pushing the total state and county taxes on cigarettes to $4.98 a pack for residents. The hike keeps prices in the Chicagoland area some of the highest in the country, second only to New York City, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. READ: Community Mazda Now Open in …

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Harry Callahan

7:18 am on Friday, November 9, 2012

Bye, Bye Miss American Pie,drove me to the levy,but the levy was dry.Thank you all for taking my country away from me thats the day that I died.   more ›

Would You Support a County-Wide 'Violence Tax'? (Poll)

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has floated the idea of a tax on guns and ammunition to offset a 2013 budget shortfall. Is this a good idea?

Nicknamed a "violence tax," a proposed Cook County tariff would hike up the prices of firearms and ammo as a way to take care of a 2013 budget shortfall, according to an NBC 5 Chicago News report. READ: Check Out the Full NBC 5 Chicago News Story for More Details The tax is being considered by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who said it wouldn't just be used to fill a $115 million budget hole next year, the report stated. It also would try to stem Chicago's gun violence in light of the past summer's rash of shootings and the city's climbing murder rate, which is up 25 percent from last year, the report continued. "It's a problem for us in our criminal justice system and it's a problem for us in our health care system, and I …

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Patricank Leatherm

9:16 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013

I think Chicago has just proven that Law Enforcement reduces gun violence and violence in general Ellie.   more ›

Cook County's Property Tax: The Motion Picture

Learn the crazy system Cook has for assessing home values and what could be driving your tax bill up.

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Gorman Beats Maher For 17th District County Board Seat

The Republican incumbent for Cook County Board of Commissioners' 17th District seat edged out Democrat opponent Patrick Maher in a campaign rife with allegations and criticism.

Elizabeth Gorman will have her chance to "fight Stroger politics" as she said while greeting voters outside the Orland Park Civic Center on Tuesday night. Gorman won another four-year term as Cook County Board's 17th District commissioner with about 59 percent of votes, against Democrat challenger Patrick Maher who received 36 percent of the votes. Green Party candidate Matthew Ogean pulled just more than five percent of votes in the race. At the victory party at Sam Maguire's Pub after most of the numbers had come in, the incumbent said she was proud of running a clean campaign and criticized Maher for neglecting the real problems with Cook County government. "He blamed me for his inability to tell the truth," said Gorman, noting that…

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Cook County Candidate Talks Planes, Trains and Economic Development

The candidate who ousted Todd Stroger in the Democratic primary for Cook County Board president talks plans, goals in Tinley Park.

Toni Preckwinkle, the Chicago alderwoman who ousted incumbent Cook County Board President Todd Stroger in the Democratic primary, sees a Cook County with fewer elected offices, trains speeding at 220 miles per hour and projects drawing businesses to the Southland. But more immediately, she sees a county with entrenched patronage, huge disparities between rich and poor areas and a $300 million shortfall she expects to rise as negotiated pay raises come due. "The $300 million is the floor, not the ceiling," Preckwinkle told the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce Monday at the group's monthly Regional Consensus Luncheon. After what Preckwinkle called a "bruising" primary, the Democratic candidate will face Republican Roger A. Keats and …

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