Feb. 10--Opponents of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to raise the legal age to buy cigarettes in Chicago to 21 and hike a series of tobacco taxes blocked a vote Wednesday after the mayor tried to jump-start the measure by pledging to crack down on illegal smoke sales.
Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th, stood in City Council chambers and announced she and a handful of other aldermen who are against the mayor's plan would use a procedural move to delay the vote until next month's meeting. That will give opponents time to try to sway fellow aldermen to join them in voting no on the ordinance, or to convince the mayor to agree to further changes.
Earlier Wednesday, the Finance Committee granted preliminary approval after balking two days ago. The mayor amended his ordinance to raise fines for illegal cigarette sales and to include a provision specifying that the roughly $6 million expected to be raised annually from tax increases on chewing tobacco and cigars will go toward high school orientation classes, smoking cessation programs for young people and enforcement of the rules against selling illegal smokes.
On Monday, 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke, the committee chairman, declined to call the ordinance for a vote amid opposition from aldermen who said it would hurt retailers and further strengthen the market for illegal "loosie" cigarettes that's already a problem in many neighborhoods. Some aldermen also complained it's ridiculous to deny cigarettes to 18-year-olds who are considered adult enough to vote and serve in the military.
Emanuel's proposal calls for a 15-cent tax per "little cigar," raising the cost of a 20-pack of some varieties such as Swisher Sweets from $5.79 to $8.79. It also imposes a 90-cent tax on larger cigars.
The mayor also wants a tax of $1.80 per ounce on smokeless tobacco, bumping the price of a 1.2-ounce can from $4.19 to $6.35; and a $6.60-per-ounce tax on roll-your-own tobacco, raising the average price of a "small pouch" from $7.25 to $11.54.
Under the amended proposal, first-time fines for selling illegal cigarettes will be increased to $5,000 from $2,500. Subsequent offenses will see fines of up to $10,000 rather than the current $5,000. People caught selling the illegal cigarettes also could face up to six months in jail.
It's unclear whether the new chewing tobacco tax will withstand a lawsuit, since state law does not allow cities to put in place their own taxes on such products. Tanya Triche, vice president and general counsel at the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said the ordinance is "ripe for a legal challenge."
The ordinance contains language setting minimum prices for chewing tobacco and other tobacco products in the event the new taxes are struck down.
Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno, 1st, who has been trying to get lawmakers in Springfield to pass a bill allowing Chicago to tax chewing tobacco, said the city decided to go ahead with the new taxes.
"The feeling is, 'Go ahead and sue us,' " Moreno said. "Hopefully, this spurs Springfield to take action and give us this authority."
The mayor has repeatedly targeted cigarettes as sources of revenue, often gaining aldermanic support by framing the tax increases as part of a crusade against youth smoking. His 2014 budget included a 50-cent-per-pack cigarette tax increase, which raised Chicago's combined federal, state and local per-pack tax to $7.17 -- the highest in the nation.
