Cook County beverage tax may make pols’ re-election bids go pop, poll finds

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Voters could cap the re-election bids of four Cook County commissioners over their support for the sweetened beverage tax, a new poll found.

It’s the latest in a series of We Ask America polls offering a snapshot into the unpopularity of the penny-an-ounce pop tax which took effect on August 2. The tax takes aim at sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks. We Ask America is a subsidiary of the Illinois Manufacturers Association — and the IMA is an ally of the tax’s main opponent, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

The latest poll was conducted on August 30. Registered voters were asked whether they were more or less likely to vote for commissioners based on their vote for the Cook County Beverage Tax.

The survey comes as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spends millions on TV ads to support the tax. The beverage industry is also airing its own commercials against the tax. The Cook County Board of Commissioners will meet on Sept. 13, when an anti-tax proposal is expected to be heard.

The Cook County Democrats get some bad poll results.