Theresa E. Mintle, President & CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and Rob Karr, President & CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association co-authored an Op-Ed for the Chicago Sun-Times this week urging the Cook County Board to consider alternatives to increasing the county sales tax.
From the Op-Ed:
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle deserves a great deal of credit for keeping the campaign promise she used to win her first term. That promise was to roll back the nation-leading sales tax imposed by her predecessor. We are grateful that she made good on that promise. But now, we are concerned that her desire to increase the sales tax will push more sales out of Cook County into neighboring counties, where taxes are significantly lower, and online, where taxes can be non-existent.
Instead of increasing the sales tax, Mintle and Karr suggest using the coming months to:
• Detail the county’s fiscal year 2016 proposed budget, fully explaining their challenges and offering transparency.
• Give the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. Bruce Rauner more time and every opportunity to pass the legislation the county needs to help with its pension obligations.