In what he described as political wrangling, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was dealt a major blow Tuesday when commissioners voted 12-3 to repeal the one cent sales tax increase that went into effect last summer.
In what he described as political wrangling, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was dealt a major blow Tuesday when commissioners voted 12-3 to repeal the one cent sales tax increase that went into effect last summer.
Stroger told the Defender that he was blindsided by Tuesday’s vote. The tax measure was on the board’s meeting agenda but was supposed to go to the finance committee for further consideration.
“I did not expect this to be called for a vote,” he said.
Instead, with a few commissioners absent from the meeting, the repeal was brought up for a vote and passed.
Stroger plans to veto the measure as early as Wednesday.
“This is mostly political,” Stroger said of the vote, conceding that the repeal was likely more against him personally than an altruistic move by commissioners on behalf of their constituents.
“Commissioners have made a lot of noise about the changes they want to see, but they haven’t made any real proposals,” Stroger said.
Still the board is likely to try and override the veto. They would need 14 votes to do so.
Absent from Tuesday’s meeting were Commissioners Earlean Collins, D-1st Dist., and Deborah Sims, D-5th Dist., who aren’t likely to go with the opposition bloc.
Commissioners Bill Beavers, D- 4th Dist., Jerry Butler, D-3rd Dist., and Robert Steele, D-2nd Dist., were the three who voted against the tax rollback.
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