Local Legislator is Chief Sponsor of Rollback Measure in State House
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – State Representative Sidney Mathias (R-Buffalo Grove) responded to the Cook County Board’s vote earlier today defeating a measure that would override Todd Stroger’s veto and roll back half of last year’s one percent sales tax increase.
“Today’s vote by the County Board is a disappointing setback for the people of Cook County,” Mathias said. “Cash-strapped families and small businesses continue to feel the pressure of higher taxes, increased cost of consumer goods, and the declining value of the dollar. Our priority should be to encourage consumer spending and fostering an economic climate where businesses are able to grow and create new jobs. The highest-in-the-nation sales tax rate in Cook County is counterproductive to those shared goals.”Mathias is the Chief Sponsor of House Bill 715, a bipartisan measure in the Illinois House to roll back Cook County’s sales tax back to the rate it was prior to July 1, 2008 when the one-percent increase took effect by pre-empting the County’s home rule status. The bill would also require the County Board to put any future tax increase proposals before the voters for approval in the form of a ballot referendum.
Mathias also noted how it takes an unrealistic four-fifths, or 80%, vote of the County Commissioners to override the Board President’s veto.
“I know of no other governmental body – past or present – that requires such an outrageous and impossible standard to override an executive veto,” Mathias said. “I believe that Cook County should be held to the same standard as every other county in Illinois as well as our own General Assembly by requiring a three-fifths majority of 60% to override a veto.”
Rep. Mathias serves the 53rd District which includes portions of Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Wheeling, Prospect Heights, and Mount Prospect.
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