Stroger renews push for smaller tax rollback
Cook County Board President Todd Stroger painted opponents of his sales tax hike Tuesday as politicians willing to sacrifice health care and safety for publicity, but maneuvering over some form of repeal continues.
"I will not allow county commissioners to grandstand for political advantage at the expense of vital services for the growing number of county residents who desperately need these services," Stroger blasted during a news conference Tuesday at a county hospital on Chicago's South Side.
But Stroger did open the door for a smaller repeal just a day after vetoing a full rollback of his controversial 1 percentage point sales tax hike, which hit shoppers last year and turned Chicago and some suburbs into one of the most heavily taxed regions in the country.
Stroger renewed an earlier call for a .25 percentage point rollback of the sales tax, bringing the county's sales tax take to 1.5 percentage points, or $1.50 for every $100 in merchandise purchased. Plus, he said he would back a plan to cut the tax further in the coming years "if the funds are available."
"That is not the same as slashing the system for political gain," he said. "That I will never tolerate. There is simply too much at stake."
Supporters of the full rollback have predicted that at least Stroger's .25 percentage point repeal would become law even as they doubt they have the votes to override the Chicago Democrat's Monday veto. One proposal would cut a quarter of a percentage point every year for four years until the full 1 percentage point tax is removed.
Stroger and sales tax supporters argue the lost revenue to the county from an immediate, full rollback would create a $500 million budget hole next year. They argue that would close down several county clinics and Provident Hospital - which is where Stroger staged his news conference Tuesday flanked by black community leaders - as well as gut police and court services.
Critics say that is not true and the list of dissenters is growing.
On Tuesday, Cook County Commissioner John Daley, who heads the county's finance committee, said the potential shortfall could largely be covered with hefty across-the-board cuts and a blanket hiring freeze.
The dissent from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's brother is being watched closely by political observers as elections loom next year. John Daley voted for the original sales tax hike last year, but he called it a "mistake" on Tuesday.
"I have no real problem saying I made a mistake," said Daley, who says his vote came before he realized the extent of the economic downturn.
As for a smaller sales tax cut, Daley said he planned to vote to override Stroger's veto next week and then "see where it goes from there."