Cook County sales tax now at 9%

Will, Lake, DuPage, McHenry and Kankakee Counties may just be the places Chicago area shoppers may be heading . . . or maybe even as far as Wisconsin or Indiana as of last night's Cook County sales tax hike:

CHICAGO, IL - Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica tonight voted against a massive tax increase that was part of an 11th hour, backroom deal on the county budget.

"Tonight's budget deal was a victory for the political insiders and a defeat for the Cook County taxpayers," said Peraica.  "I commend my fellow Republican commissioners, as well as commissioners Claypool and Quigley, for standing up against the insiders, opposing these tax increases, and advocating for the elimination of the waste, fraud and abuse that costs the taxpayers millions."

The budget deal that passed tonight more than doubles the county's portion of the sales tax, and doubles the tax on parking lots and garages.  These tax increases will be used to fund the Stroger Administration's massive $150 million spending increase over last year's budget, which includes more than 1,100 new county employees.

This tax increase means Chicago's sales tax now stands at 10.25 percent, the highest of any major city in the country.  In suburban Cook County, the sales tax will now be nine percent.  The county tax on monthly parking in public garages will now be $40 instead of $20.

"During the past year alone, we've seen family and friends hired, frontline workers fired, and millions of taxpayer dollars misused, stolen or simply wasted," said Peraica.  "For this county board to pick the pockets of the taxpayers to fund this wasteful government is yet another example of the backroom dealers selling out the taxpayers for their own political gain."