Cook County Board Approves Proposed Sugary Beverages Tax
A penny-an-ounce tax on sugary and artificially sweetened drinks has been adopted by the Cook County Board of Commissioners in Chicago.
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A penny-an-ounce tax on sugary and artificially sweetened drinks has been adopted by the Cook County Board of Commissioners in Chicago.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the sugary beverage tax would help close a $174 million budget gap and avoid layoffs.
The most controversial issue at the moment in Cook County politics is not even something on which you can vote Tuesday.
The price of a pop could go up next summer in Cook County. Board President Toni Preckwinkle has proposed a new tax on sweetened drinks in her budget address on Thursday.
Retailers were speaking out Wednesday amid published reports Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is considering a new tax on sugary soft drinks, up to a penny an ounce.
Cook County has made a major upgrade to its official government website, and officials said it's truly user-friendly now.
Cook County government and healthcare officials on Tuesday applauded the American Medical Association's decision to declare gun violence is a public health crisis that requires federally funded research.
Dr. Stephen Cina took over in 2012 after the previous medical examiner resigned amid criticism that bodies were stacking up in the morgue. Preckwinkle says Cina took the office from "crisis to full accreditation."
It has sat vacant for nearly 15 years, and become a popular target for graffiti artists, but the old Cook County Hospital building could get new life as a hotel and apartment building, with stores at ground level.
A CBS 2 and Better Government Association investigation found that Cook County has failed to collect up to $20 million in fines for the tax violations.
When the office lost accreditation in 2011, there was a shortage of staff, and overcrowding that led to bodies being stacked on top of each other.
Members of the Cook County Board spoke to county department heads on Tuesday about how the state's budget impasse is affecting local services.
Cook County has launched a two-year program to try to better identify people who have trouble putting food on the table for their families and getting them help.
Civic leaders and representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities came together today to denounce the anti-Muslim, anti-refugee sentiment that has been picking up steam around the country.
Ousted Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy appeared Friday at a public event with his former boss, Mayor Emanuel, and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
The continued tension over the Laquan McDonald case was a hot topic Friday morning at an annual prayer breakfast attended by some of the state's leading politicians, business leaders, and clergy.
The head of the Chicago's official tourism agency has warned a planned Cook County hotel tax could hurt the city's convention industry, but Mayor Rahm Emanuel seemed less concerned.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has said she has enough votes to approve a new countywide tax on ammunition for handguns and rifles.
There had been a lot of opposition to the amusement tax hike, which would have hit cable-television customers, bowlers, golfers and others involved with for-profit sports activities.
Three months after pushing through a plan to raise sales taxes by a penny on the dollar, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is seeking some more new taxes to balance the budget next year.
The Inspector General's 15-page report also refers to Cook County's animal control unit as "efficiently operated," but says there is an "over-reliance on euthanasia."
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle met with a group of anti-violence activists on the South Side on Wednesday, and announced the county would spend $500,000 on so-called "restorative justice" programs in an effort to help prevent ex-cons from going back to court or jail, and to curb violent crime.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was making her final pitch for a sales tax hike, as the Cook County Board met Wednesday to debate a tax increase she railed against five years ago.
Board President Toni Preckwinkle is seeking to reinstate the tax -- first enacted during the administration of predecessor Todd Stroger -- primarily to cover the county's pension shortfall.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Tuesday she will present a preliminary budget plan that includes a proposal to increase the county sales tax she spent years rolling back.
While the United States is marking a big birthday this year, so is a small family business in Chicago that has grown into a neighborhood staple, drawing shoppers from far and wide.
Christian Walker hit a three-run double, Cam Smith added a two-run homer in Houston's eight-run sixth inning and the Astros overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Chicago White Sox 8-5 on Friday night.
WNBA All-Star weekend festivities continue. Chicago is the center of the women's basketball universe and fan interest has grown for this event.
A dispute over backyard gatherings in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood is escalating. City officials say a homeowner continues to host and rent her yard for large unlicensed events despite repeated violations.
A Chicago man has been charged with ripping off nearly a quarter of a million dollars' worth of designer perfumes as part of an elaborate scheme that investigators said went on for months.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has purchased commercial spyware that can covertly take control of phones, collect messages, photos and location information.
A new lawsuit argues that Wisconsin's elections commission is wrongly blocking absentee voters from canceling their ballots and requesting new ones, with nearly 91,000 ballots already returned ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.
The Illinois Legislative Ethics Commission voted on Thursday to publish a report outlining details of the investigation that led to state Rep. Harry Benton (D-Chicago) to resign his post earlier this month.
Voters in Chicago will have a chance to decide in November if the city should go after the federal government for money spent dealing with the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown and Operation Midway Blitz.
The Secret Service said a member of Vice President JD Vance's detail is under investigation for "compromising operational and information security."
The Trump administration is taking aim at power grid operator PJM Interconnection over rising electricity bills that affect Illinois and Indiana residents.
Chicago remained the most bed bug-treated city in the country, according to Orkin's latest annual rankings covering a full year of residential and commercial treatment data.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul this week warned residents cleaning up from last month's storms to be on the lookout for scams.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed several new consumer protections into law, including a ban on junk fees.
CBS News Chicago has learned that Illinois home insurance premiums are not only higher than the nation's average, but going up faster too.
East Chicago, Indiana is being placed on a precautionary boil water advisory starting Monday morning for planned installations that could affect water safety.
A new Northwestern Medicine study on long COVID shows women show more neurological symptoms than men.
A lettuce supplier to fast-food giant Taco Bell has been linked to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people, the CDC said.
Chicago just barely made the top 20 in the American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 ranking of the country's fittest cities.
In a major turnaround in the opioid crisis, overdose deaths are falling across Chicago and Cook County.
The food deserts on Chicago's South and West sides could spread even wider if seven Save A Lot grocery stores close.
Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois are both seeking rate increases that would raise monthly bills by as much as $28, while their parent companies seek regulatory approval to merge — a deal a consumer watchdog says would give one company control of nearly all regulated water customers in the state.
The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from several states secured a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co. — commonly known as John Deere — that requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment.
Chicago Soul Café opened Monday at 6248 S. St. Lawrence Ave.
The Chicago Bears this weekend said they are assessing land at Wolf Lake Terminals in Hammond, Indiana, for a possible new stadium.
Paramount Skydance on Friday said it would delay the deal until as late as June 2027.
Iowa announced a fall exhibition game against Kansas at the Field of Dreams ballpark, where major and minor league games have been played since 2021.
Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" is the first film shot entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras, and Cinemark Seven Bridges in Woodridge is 1 of roughly 30 theaters nationwide equipped to show it that way.
Brenda Fricker won an Academy Award for 1989's "My Left Foot," played the Pigeon Lady in "Home Alone 2" and appeared in "A Time to Kill" and "So I Married an Axe Murderer."
The actor's agent said he was providing more information following news reports "which contain inaccuracies and outright falsehoods."
Meteorologist Kylee Miller has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
While the United States is marking a big birthday this year, so is a small family business in Chicago that has grown into a neighborhood staple, drawing shoppers from far and wide.
WNBA All-Star weekend festivities continue. Chicago is the center of the women's basketball universe and fan interest has grown for this event.
A dispute over backyard gatherings in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood is escalating. City officials say a homeowner continues to host and rent her yard for large unlicensed events despite repeated violations.
A Chicago man has been charged with ripping off nearly a quarter of a million dollars' worth of designer perfumes as part of an elaborate scheme that investigators said went on for months.
Authorities are investigating the "suspicious deaths" of two adults and six children following a house fire Friday morning in Grand Haven Township, Michigan.
A Chicago man has been charged with ripping off nearly a quarter of a million dollars' worth of designer perfumes as part of an elaborate scheme that investigators said went on for months.
A Lockport foster parent said he lost his kids, job and home for months after a mix-up that landed his name on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry.
A dispute over backyard gatherings in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood is escalating. City officials say a homeowner continues to host and rent her yard for large unlicensed events despite repeated violations.
While the United States is marking a big birthday this year, so is a small family business in Chicago that has grown into a neighborhood staple, drawing shoppers from far and wide.
While Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn't announced if he will run for re-election next year, he's boasting about lower vacancy rates for Mag Mile buildings and taking credit for the positive changes.
A Lockport foster parent said he lost his kids, job and home for months after a mix-up that landed his name on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry.
Record heat and major air quality issues created by wildfire smoke were key topics as some of the top climate leaders from around the world gathered in Chicago this week for the Aspen Institute's annual climate summit.
Police say a man and a woman were last seen speaking with the victim before the shooting.
Neighbors in the Avalon Park neighborhood said their community has been plagued by squatters, weeds, rats, and water leaks – all thanks to an abandoned home that's been sitting vacant for years.
Christian Walker hit a three-run double, Cam Smith added a two-run homer in Houston's eight-run sixth inning and the Astros overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Chicago White Sox 8-5 on Friday night.
WNBA All-Star weekend festivities continue. Chicago is the center of the women's basketball universe and fan interest has grown for this event.
The Chicago Cubs held on for a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
Kane said he feels strong three years after undergoing a major hip resurfacing surgery and rehabbing his way back for three solid seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said Romo was pulled over around 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Madison, Wisconsin remains one of the only cities of its size without a police body camera program, leaving key moments of a fatal officer-involved shooting unrecorded.
A man was killed and a teenage boy was wounded in a shooting on Thursday evening in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago.
A man and a woman were found shot and killed inside a car on Thursday evening on the University of Chicago campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
Madison's chief of police says an officer in Wisconsin's capital city shot and killed a man who had injured him with a knife while resisting arrest.
Three men have been convicted of a string of violent robberies targeting liquor stores, convenience stores, and bars in Chicago in 2023 and 2024.
