Proposed Sweetened Beverage Tax Comes To Cook County, IL

Illinois’ Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will propose a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages as part of a move to close a 2017 budget shortfall, reports the Chicago Tribune. The tax would include sweetened beverages such as pop, lemonade, sports drinks and fountain drinks. 

In its first year it would reportedly raise an estimated $74.6 million, and be in addition to other budgeting measures.  

The beverage tax would apply throughout the county, including Chicago.