Lyons Mayor Getty urges repeal of Soda Tax

Lyons, Illinois – Lyons President Christopher Getty urged residents to attend a public hearing Thursday at Village Hall to voice their opposition to Cook County’s Soda Tax.

Getty said several officials including Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski and State Representatives Silvana Tabares and Mike Zalewski will also attend the meeting to detail efforts to repeal the tax through legislation.

The hearing will be held on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017 at the Lyons Village Hall, 4200 Lawndale Avenue starting at 6 pm.

Lyons Township Supervisor and Village of Lyons President Christ Getty. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

“The soda tax is regressive, punitive and causing serious harm to local businesses,” Mayor Getty said.

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“It needs to be repealed. Cook County needs to find another way to deal with its budget challenges. It was clear from the vote last year that the tax would be contentious and cause problems. Half the board voted against it and President Preckwinkle was forced to cast her vote to break the tie. That should have been a signal that this is a bad idea.”

Getty said the tax has many problems.

“We’re hearing from many retailers across the county that the tax is unclear and confusing. Retailers are imposing the tax inconsistently. The legislation was not thought out and it was rushed,” Getty said.

“Many retailers are seeing a significant negative impact on their sales as a result of the soda tax. Instead of helping the county, the tax on sweetened drinks is having the opposite impact.”

The Preckwinkle Tax was approved by the County Board on Thursday November 10, 2016 by a 9 to 8 vote with 8 commissioners voting for the tax and 8 commissioners voting against. Preckwinkle was forced to cast the tie-breaking vote.

The tax was to begin July 1, but a lawsuit by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association delayed the implementation of the tax until August 1 after a judge dismissed the challenge.

Flyer promoting public forum on repealing the Cook County Soda Tax

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A critic of mainstream news media bias, Hanania advocates for peace & justice for Israel & Palestine, & the empowerment of Arabs in America.

"I write about three topics, the Middle East, politics and life in general. I often take my life experiences and offer them in an entertaining way to readers, and I take on the toughest topics like the Israel-Palestine conflict and don't pull any punches about what I feel is fair. But, my priority is always about writing the good story."

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His columns are archived here. Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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