Cook County Budget

Cook County Budget Approved: Layoffs, Tax Hikes, Fees Ahead

Posted 11.19.2011

Read More: Toni Preckwinkle Budget, Cook County Alcohol Tax, Video, Cook County Taxes, Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Budget Approved, Illinois Layoffs, Cook County Layoffs, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

After an all-day meeting, the Cook County Board early Friday evening approved the county's 2012 budget by a vote of 16-1. The $2.9 billion spending...

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County Proposes Tax On Car Purchases Via Craigslist

Posted 11.18.2011

Read More: Boat Tax, Cook County Budget Tax, New Cook County Tax, Craigslist Tax, Toni Preckwinkle, Informal Sale Tax, Car Tax, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has added a new revenue source to the Cook County budget in advance of its vote Friday: a proposed tax on...

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Alcohol Tax Hike OKed By County Board

Posted 11.15.2011

Read More: Cook County Alcohol Tax, Video, John Fritchey, Cook County Taxes, Brendan Riley, Toni Preckwinkle, Alcohol Tax, Cook County Booze Tax, Cook County Budget, Cook County Budget Deficit, Chicago News

Updated story A proposal increasing alcohol taxes by 50 percent in Cook County was approved Monday by the county board, even as some feared the add...

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Cook County Could Raise Alcohol Tax By 50 Percent

Posted 01.10.2012

Read More: Cook County Alcohol Tax, Chicago Taxes, Video, Chicago Hard Liquor Tax, Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President, Preckwinkle Alcohol Tax, Cook County Budget, Cook County Tobacco Tax, Chicago News

Citing concerns about alcohol abuse, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday announced a plan that would increase alcohol taxes by 5...

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Cook County Budget Outlines More Than 1,000 Layoffs; Tax, Fee Increases

Posted 12.24.2011

Read More: Toni Preckwinkle Budget, Illinois Unemployment, Cook County Taxes, Toni Preckwinkle County Budget, Cook County Politics, Toni Preckwinkle, Illinois Taxes, Illinois Layoffs, Illinois Jobs, Cook County, Cook County Layoffs, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's second budget, slated to be officially unveiled Tuesday, is expected to include layoffs of just more th...

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In Cook County, One Year Of Juvenile Jail Time Is More Expensive Than A Year At Harvard

Posted 12.21.2011

Read More: Juvenile Jail More Expensive Than Harvard, More Expensive Than Tuition, Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Underage Crime, Toni Preckwinkle, College Tuition, Cook County Board President, Juvenile Detention, Cook County Budget, Juvenile Justice, Chicago News

In advance of releasing her $3 billion spending plan for 2012, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle spoke about one expense she hopes to slash...

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Cook County Commissioners Say 'No' To Mandated Furloughs

Posted 11.21.2011

Read More: Earlean Collins, Constance Kravitz, Cook County Commissioners, Cook County Furloughs, Cook County Politics, Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Employee Furloughs, William Beavers, Cook County Board, Cook County Budget, Cook County Illinois, Cook County Budget Deficit, Chicago News

Two Cook County commissioners lashed out Tuesday against a County Board mandate requiring them to join the majority of the county's employees in takin...

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Can YOU Fix Cook County's Deficit?

The Huffington Post | Lizzie Schiffman | Posted 10.09.2011

Read More: Cook Budget Shortfall, Toni Preckwinkle County Board, County Deficit, Cook Budget Deficit, Toni Preckwinkle, Crowdsourcing, Budget Shortfall, County Budget, Budget Deficit, Cook County, Cook County Budget Deficit, Toni Preckwinkle County Board President, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

How would you fix Cook County’s $315 million budget shortfall? An interactive “Budget” section launched Tuesday on the Cook County government we...

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Cops Asked To Stop Making Low-Level Marijuana Arrests

Posted 09.27.2011

Read More: Drug Arrests, Cpd, Marijuana, Chicago War on Drugs, Toni Preckwinkle, Garry McCarthy, War on Drugs, Chicago Police, Toni Preckwinkle War on Drugs, Preckwinkle Marijuana Arrests, Cook County Jail, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

When Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle took office, she inherited a serious budget shortfall, and called on nearly all county departments t...

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Oops: Cook County Bookkeeping Error Double-Counted $90 Million

AP | Posted 08.11.2011

Read More: Cook County Bookkeeping Mistake, Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County $90 Million, Cook County Bookkeeping, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

CHICAGO — Officials in Cook County, Ill., where Chicago is located say a bookkeeping blunder that resulted in double-counting $90 million in rev...

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Cook County Government Shuts Down For A Day To Save Money

Posted 06.22.2011

Read More: Cook County Shutdown, Cook County Government Shutdown, Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago, Illinois, Cook County, Cook County Budget Deficit, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Most offices of the Cook County government are shut down on Friday, in an effort to reduce the county's massive budget deficit. The county's 16 hea...

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Up To 2,000 Layoffs Coming As Cook County Plans Major Cuts

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Toni Preckwinkle Budget, Cook County, Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President, Illinois, Cook County Budget, Chicago, Chicago News

Toni Preckwinkle won election as Cook County Board President handily. She took wide margins in the primary and the general, from all over the city and...

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Peraica Uses Twitter To Rebuke Stroger On County Budget Cuts

Huffington Post | Tim Taliaferro | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Peraica Twitter, Twitter, Cook County Politics, Peraica Stroger, Tony Peraica, Todd Stroger, Todd Stroger Sales Tax, Cook County Board, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica defied Board President Todd Stroger's claim that his critics have no solutions to the county's budget woes by of...

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County Workers Stockpile Over $2 Million In Overtime Pay

Chicago Sun-Times | Mark J. Konkol | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cook County Budget, Cook County, Cook County Highway Department, Cook County Overtime, Chicago News

If Joseph Lafata were to retire anytime soon from his job as a maintenance supervisor with the Cook County Highway Department, he'd have a nice cushio...

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What Recession? Cook County Officials Submit Gilded Wish List

NBC Chicago | Steve Rhodes | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Todd Stroger, Cook County, Cook County Budget Crisis, Cook County Politics, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Who says times are tough? It's all leather chairs and granite countertops these days for Cook County officials. "The recession and Cook County budget...

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Do You Think 700 Million Dollars is a Lot of Money?

Mike Quigley | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Todd Stroger, Cook County, Mike Quigley, Cook County Board, Chicago Politics, Fiscal Responsibility, Cook County Budget, Chicago News
Mike Quigley

When the Cook County budget comes up for a vote in the coming week, we will be dealing, yet again, with a patchwork set of fixes, an ill-conceived borrowing scheme, and a lack of attention to the real problems.

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Cook County Trims Millions In Budget Fat

Daily Herald | Rob Olmstead | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cook County Budget Cuts, Cook County Budget Fat, Cook County Board, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Well, what do you know? There was some fat in that Cook County bond budget after all. Or at least things that county departments could forego for one ...

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Tribune To Cook County: Downsize Now

Chicago Tribune | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Taxes, Cook County Sales Tax Increase, Cook County Cuts, Todd Stroger, Cook County Debt, Tribune Editorial, Cook County Sales Tax, Chicago Tribune, Cook County, Mike Quigley, Cook County Board, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Out here in the real world, the temptation of easy debt has (a) let people foolishly live beyond their means and (b) stuck all of us federal taxpayers...

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Stroger, Claypool Take Feud To Mancow Radio Show

Chicago Sun-Times | Mark J. Konkol | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Stroger Claypool Feud, Erich Mancow Muller, Stroger Claypool, Mancow Stroger Claypool, Todd Stroger, Stroger Budget, Mancow on WLS, Forrest Claypool, Mancow, Stroger County Budget, Cook County Board, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool was all over WLS-AM (890) -- first on "Don and Roma" and later on "The Erich 'Mancow' Muller Show" -- critic...

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If Taxes Were Raised, Why Is Cook County Asking For More Money?

Chicago Sun-Times | Rummana Hussain | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Stroger Budget, Cook County Sales Tax Increase, Cook County Sales Tax, Todd Stroger, Cook County, Stroger County Budget, Stroger Borrowing, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Wait, wasn't the county supposed to be flush with money after hiking the sales tax earlier this year? It was March when Todd Stroger's sales tax incr...

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Stroger Slammed For County Borrowing Plan

Chicago Sun-Times | Rummana Hussain | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Stroger Borrowing Lay Offs, Stroger Borrowing Plan, Todd Stroger, Cook County Commissioners, Tony Peraica, Forrest Claypool, Stroger Critics, Stroger County Budget, Mike Quigley, Cook County Board, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Just minutes after Cook County Board President Todd Stroger boasted his $2.94 billion proposed budget for 2009 was free of additional taxes, several c...

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Stroger Threatens Huge Lay Offs If County Doesn't Get $740 Million

Chicago Tribune | Hal Dardick | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Maria Pappas, Stroger Borrowing Lay Offs, Todd Stroger, Cook County Lay Offs, Donna Dunnings, Cook County, Tom Dart, Cook County Board, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

Nine months after a sales-tax increase that was expected to bring in nearly $400 million a year passed, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is wa...

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County Board Backs $930M Health Budget

Chicago Tribune | Hal Dardick | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Todd Stroger, Cook County Health Budget, Cook County Public Health, Warren Batts, Health and Hospitals System Board of Directors, Jerry "Iceman" Butler, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

The new independent board overseeing Cook County's public health system won its first battle Friday to avoid tinkering by politicians who hold its pur...

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Stroger Sacks County Budget Director

Chicago Sun-Times | Mark Konkol | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Stroger Fires Budget Director, Cook County Budget, Todd Stroger, Stroger Fires Wilson, Jarese Wilson, Cook County Budget Director, Chicago News

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has dumped his budget director just weeks before the planned unveiling of the 2009 budget, the Chicago Sun-Ti...

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Cook County Hospitals' True Cost: $1.1 Billion

Daily Herald | Rob Olmstead | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cook County Hospitals, David Small, Todd Stroger, Cook County Hospitals Budget, Cook County, Cook County Budget, Chicago News

"The true cost of the Cook County hospital system is roughly $1.1 billion for 2009, documents recently released by interim hospitals CEO David Small ...

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