Preckwinkle Expects Approval Of New Ammunition Tax

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has said she has enough votes to approve a new countywide tax on ammunition for handguns and rifles.

Preckwinkle said the ammo tax – first suggested by Commissioner Richard Boykin – would slap a one-cent-per-cartridge levy on less powerful ammunition such as .22 caliber bullets, and a five-cent-per-bullet tax on more powerful ammo, such as 9-mm bullets.

"Commissioner Boykin came forward with the idea, and I pointed out to him that we've tried this before, and only gotten eight votes. One of the votes that we had hoped for at the time was the vote of his predecessor," she said.

Boykin acknowledged he agreed to support Preckwinkle's plan for a new 1 percent county hotel tax increase, but said his aim is the bullet tax.

"There is no greater issue for us to confront in Cook County and the city of Chicago than this issue of gun violence," he said.

Revenue from the proposed ammo tax would go toward public safety programs.

In:
• Craig Dellimore
• Cook County
• Toni Preckwinkle