Nonbinding referendum on sweetened beverage tax on Elk Grove Township ballot

Elk Grove Township voters will have a chance to weigh in on Cook County's short-lived sweetened beverage tax - which expired last November after commissioners overwhelmingly voted to end it.

The township board voted unanimously this weekend to put a nonbinding referendum on the November ballot that asks voters whether they support a tax on sweetened beverages. Township Supervisor Mike Sweeney said he's heard "rumblings" that the unpopular tax could return after the November election.

"Taxes like this can always rear their ugly head again," Sweeney said.

The one-penny-per-ounce tax last just two months before strong opposition from consumers and business groups led county commissioners to rescind it.