Sunday, October 8, 11:15 AM
HYDE PARK UNION CHURCH
56th and Woodlawn
THE FORUM ON COOK COUNTY SODA TAX
Speaker: Rebecca Janowitz, Special Assistant for Legal Affairs, Cook County Justice Advisory Council
On October 10, the Finance Committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on whether to repeal the 1-cent per ounce tax on sweetened drinks.
THE ISSUE: The Cook County established a tax on sweetened beverages to help pay for critical county services. It adds 12 cents to the cost of a can of Coke. Now a campaign sponsored by the American Beverage Association, a trade group of producers and bottlers of soft drinks and sparkling beverages. Also opposing the tax: retailers who say it’s driving customers across state lines and the Illinois Farm Bureau, which opposes any policies that suggest that some foods (i.e., sweetened beverages) are better for public health than others.
Many Cook County residents say they don’t want to raise revenue in this way.
Cook County government says the tax is needed to fund $200 million in critical county services, and that if it is rescinded county doctors and nurses, prosecutors, public defenders, sheriffs’ officers, prison guards, and other key employees must be laid off.
OTHER CONCERNS: In Cook County as elsewhere around the nation, obesity is a growing national epidemic: The Cook County Hospital System spends $200 million a year just treating diseases like diabetes and heart disease that are linked to consuming sugar.
Many other jurisdictions around the US have passed similar taxes, including Seattle, San Francisco, Boulder, Colorado, and Philadelphia. Many others are considering such a tax.
What we decide here will help to shape the national debate.
JOIN US ON OCTOBER 8 TO LEARN MORE, AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.