On Monday November 14th the Cook County Finance Committee voted a new alcohol tax increase by a vote of 12-5 out of committee. The new law increases the excise tax on alcohol by $.50 a gallon. By enacting this tax increase, the Board of Commissioners is projected to cost Cook County nearly 300 jobs. With the unemployment rate at already at 10% and with jobs in the hospitality industry already below pre-recession levels, many people must ask themselves is now is the right time to see a tax increase for the people of Cook County?

These four Republicans represent the worst kind of tax and spend – big government – Republicans.  There is little difference between their position on taxation and that of the anti-growth, job-killing policies of their Democrat colleagues.  When Republicans in Washington, D.C. and across the country are standing firm against job-killing higher taxes, these four Republicans have caved – perhaps hoping to score invitations to Democrat cocktail parties with Mayor Rahm Emmanuel on the Gold Coast.

Before this tax hike, the excise tax on alcohol for Cook County is greater than that of New York, and increasing this tax any further will only hurt the economy and harm job creation. This excise tax puts the burden on the middle and low-income workers and families of Cook County.

Emmanuel has proposed a new booze and tobacco tax hike, on top of the 66% tax increase, the largest tax increase in IL history, that Cook County residents are already coping with as we head into the holiday shopping season.

Worse yet, four Republican county commissioners who sit on the Finance Committee voted to pass the tax:

Timothy O. Schneider

Phone: 312-603-6388

Gregg Goslin

Phone: 312-603-4932

@GreggGoslin

Elizabeth Doody Gorman

Phone: 312-603-4215

Peter Silversti

312-603-4393

With no light of day between Republicans and Democrats, it is no wonder why Republicans in Chicago and Illinois are doing so poorly.