July 02--Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday defended her push for quick approval of a sales tax increase after commissioners unsuccessfully tried to slow it down and make her include it in the traditional fall budgeting process.
Preckwinkle plans to call for a vote on the 1 percentage point tax increase before the end of July and said quick action would ensure sufficient county funding next year and help her persuade state legislators to approve proposed changes to the county pension system.
To start collecting the tax Jan. 1, the county must approve it by the end of September, well before the county budget season commences, Preckwinkle said. And her pension bill is pending in the General Assembly, where it has stalled in the House for what she described as a lack of votes from Republicans wary of looking like tax enablers.
"The basic message is, 'We've already done the heavy lifting. If you pass this vote, nobody can say that you were responsible for raising taxes in Cook County. We've already done it,'" Preckwinkle said, explaining why she wants the tax increase approved by month's end.
Preckwinkle offered the explanation after a Cook County Board meeting at which four commissioners, including three fellow Democrats, opposed her move to bypass the normal budget process that runs from October through November.
Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, tried to block the proposal from being referred to the Finance Committee, saying the increase of a penny on the dollar to the sales tax should not be considered until Preckwinkle has presented her full budget proposal.
He was backed by Chicago Democrats John Fritchey and Bridget Gainer, as well as Republican Tim Schneider of Bartlett. But 10 commissioners voted to send the proposal to the committee, so Suffredin's motion failed.
Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, D-Chicago, declared his support for the tax hike and defended Preckwinkle, saying she had restored confidence in county government after the controversial tenure of her predecessor, Todd Stroger, whom she defeated in a four-way primary in 2010.
Preckwinkle's key pledge during that campaign was to roll back what remained of an identical tax increase enacted under Stroger. She kept that pledge but now says the tax, which would raise an estimated $473 million a year, is needed to restore financial health to the county's underfunded pension system.
"In 2013, I believe, Moody's (Investors Service) started addressing the issue of pensions, which has always been addressed, but they specifically said the revenue had to be addressed," said Daley, the brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Absent a pension solution, "we'll continue to be downgraded," Preckwinkle said, referring to the county's debt ratings. "We'll be junk bonds. We will have no credibility in the financial markets if we don't raise revenue to meet our expenses."
If the state were to approve her pension plan -- which includes reduced cost-of-living increases for retired workers, older retirement ages and higher worker retirement payments -- the cost of restoring financial health to the retirement fund would be significantly lower.
With that in mind, Preckwinkle said Tuesday that if the tax increase is approved and her pension plan is enacted, she would consider rolling back part of the tax increase.
That offer of a potential future rollback, part of her plan to sell the tax hike to commissioners, also could help her in Springfield, where she could then tell legislators that a vote for her pension plan amounts to a tax reduction vote.
hdardick@tribune.com
