Chicago Soda Tax on the Ropes

It looks like consumers have won in Chicago and Cook County, Ill., where county commissioners are expected to vote to repeal the sweetened-beverage tax that has vexed shoppers and retailers for the past two months.

Twelve of the Cook County Board's 17 commissioners have signed on to the repeal ordinance, according to a Chicago Tribune report. It takes 11 votes to override a veto.

The likely repeal is a significant setback for Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who on Oct. 2 proposed a new budget that relied on the $200 million a year she said the penny-an-ounce tax on sugar- and artificially-sweetened beverages would generate next year, according to the newspaper report.

Additional information about the Chicago soda tax can be found on our sister Winsight Media brand, CSP, here.