The Sugary Drinks Tax Is A No-Go, At Least For Now

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 30, 2017 9:40PM

The expensive stuff / Getty Images / Photo: Justin Sullivan

Chicagoans can keep drinking the sweet stuff without the sour aftertaste of an extra tax—at for the time being, anyway. The penny-per-ounce surcharge on sugary drinks that was set to start on Saturday has been blocked by a judge.

Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle last year started floating the prospect of a tax on soda (or, if you must, pop, or coke), several retailers and the Illinois Restaurant Association lined up in opposition.

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association sued this week, arguing that the tax was unclear and unconstitutional. Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak on Friday granted a delay, which will extend at least until the next hearing date, July 12. The tax failed to offer a course to refund taxpayers in the event that the levy is deemed unconstitutional, he ruled, according to the AP.

We'd say drink a cola to that, but you probably really shouldn't.

The city has estimated that the tax, which passed last November, would generate some $200 million a year as Cook County looks for ways to shore up its yawning budget deficit. The added health benefits would have been a nice boon, too, supporters argue.

Seattle was the most recent city to pass a sugary-drinks tax. Philadelphia, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and Boulder have all passed similar measures.