- Cook County commissioners voted Tuesday to repeal last year's unpopular sales tax increase -- but taxpayers shouldn't hold their breath in hopes that they'll soon by paying less at the cash register.
The 12-3 vote to roll back the 1 percentage-point increase next January was a political body blow to Board President Todd Stroger, who immediately vowed to veto the measure. Commissioners acknowledged they may not have the votes to make the tax repeal stick. An extraordinary 14 of 17 County Board members are needed to override a president's veto.
Stroger, the prime backer of the tax increase, called the surprise vote "political theater" by commissioners trying to placate angry voters ahead of next year's election. Four commissioners who supported the tax increase in 2008 switched sides and voted for its repeal, meaning they could win back some voter sympathy even if the repeal doesn't stick. Stroger acknowledged it would only add to his troubles as he seeks a second term in 2010.
His one chance to be seen as a reformer rather than a tax-and-spend tool of the Machine and he blows it. Typical Stroger. One has to wonder if Beavers (who is supposed to be advising this fool) is setting him up at the behest of the Daley crime syndicate.
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