10.25% - Chicago to Have Highest Sales Tax of Big Cities In America: Cook County Democrats Declare War On The Middle Class and Poor

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

With not a vote to spare, the Cook County Board today cleared the way for President Toni Preckwinkle's plan to raise the county's sales tax a penny on the dollar, mostly for pensions.

The action came when the board's Finance Committee, which includes all board members, voted 9 to 7 to 1 to send the $474 million a year tax hike to the full board, which will consider it later today.

The key votes came from Commissioner Luis Arroyo, a Chicago Democrat who voted "yes," and suburban Republican Elizabeth Gorman, who cast a "present" ballot and who is widely rumored to soon be headed to a new, private-sector job. Immediately after the Finance Committee vote, Gorman announced her resignation.

Preckwinkle has said that she will take another look at the levy is state lawmakers approve a pension reform plan that would cut the county's retirement costs. But foes charge that the levy might undercut that position and it would place county businesses at a competitive disadvantage by hiking the combined sales tax in Chicago to 10.25 percent.

That figure appears to give the metropolitan area the highest combined sales tax of any major region in the country.

Chicago's middle class will have to live with less so greedy government workers can have more. Great moments of Blue America.