Reality check
Thursday, May 20, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Toni Preckwinkle, November 20th, 2009 via Crain’s…
For instance, she promised to repeal what’s left of incumbent Todd Stroger’s penny-on-the-dollar sales-tax hike — a half-cent repeal is pending — within four years.
* Toni Preckwinkle, December 21st, 2009, via the Daily Herald…
Preckwinkle advocates a phased elimination of the wildly unpopular penny-on-the-dollar sales tax increase pushed by Board President Todd Stroger.
* Toni Preckwinkle, January 20th…
I pledge to take down the remaining half percent as quickly as I can in my four-year term … But when you are reducing income, you also have to think about how you are reducing expenses. You have to look carefully through the budget and look at where there is waste, duplication, where you can save money by consolidating or bringing things in house that were previously outsourced… We have to be very thoughtful and careful about what we’re doing, and look at income and expenses over time, and not just stumble from one budget year to the next.
* Toni Preckwinkle, May 7th…
Q: The first half of Todd Stroger’s one percent sales tax increase has been eliminated. When would you take the other half-percent off?
A: I’ve committed that I’d do that over the four years, but not when I walk in the door, because I’ve got to figure out what the heck is going on. Given what you’ve read in the newspapers, it looks more complicated than I expected.
* Toni Preckwinkle, May 19th…
Shoppers will have to wait until 2012 at the earliest for repeal of the remaining half-penny increase in the Cook County sales tax because of a shortfall that could approach $500 million, the Democratic nominee for County Board president said Wednesday.
Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) campaigned on a promise to repeal the remaining half-penny over time.
* Cook County GOP, May 19th…
“After months of misleading voters, Alderman Toni Preckwinkle has finally acknowledged she has no intention of immediately repealing the Cook County sales tax increase and will not cut wasteful spending to east the tax burden.”
* Toni Preckwinkle, May 20th…
Since announcing my campaign for Cook County Board President in December of 2008, I have been committed to repealing the sales tax increase. From Day 1, my focus will be on working to make that a reality. I have already pledged to immediately take a 10% pay cut and call for a comprehensive personnel audit, beginning with the Office of the President.
Since Feb. 2nd, we have put a lot of energy into trying to figure out what we are heading into. At this point, it has been suggested that we could be looking at a huge deficit next year. It would be irresponsible to cut resources without knowing more about the state of the County’s financial condition. I am committed to filling any budget gaps without burdening the people of Cook County.
As Cook County Board President, my focus from Day 1 will be implementing responsible spending practices, eliminating waste and inefficiencies, and looking for non-tax resources so that we can repeal the remainder of the sales tax.
Repealing the sales tax, while cleaning up corruption and providing services more effectively will feel like we’re fixing the plane while we’re flying it, but I am confident we will meet these challenges.
It looks to me, at least, that she’s been pretty clear for months about how she probably wouldn’t eliminate the half-penny sales tax right away. It’s been a four-year phase-out plan since November.
- Montrose - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:00 pm:
See, THAT is reporting. Well done, Rich.
- Wiseacre - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:03 pm:
Silly Rich. Do you actually think the truth really matters when a sensational headline is just within grasp? Accurate reporting takes work; reporters have better things to do with their time, like………..well, I’ll get back to you on that point.
- Brennan - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:08 pm:
Cook County’s ‘country club’ hospital
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:27 pm:
I voted for Preckwinkle, but…
I think she did move up the timeline to get rid of the sales tax increase in response to O’Brien taking a hardline stand on this issue.
Tom Tresser (Green) took a more responsible approach earlier. He said until the books have been audited it wasn’t clear if the tax could be repealed right away or not.
- wordslinger - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:28 pm:
You’re right. But she didn’t qualify in her spots.
For a final ruling, I appeal to Benjamin Franklin, who was in one of Preckwinkle’s spots. Did she purposely mislead in her spots?
- Steve - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:29 pm:
Toni Preckwinkle is just being honest about what’s she doing. Cook County voters don’t care about high taxes so she can come out and say this stuff. Higher taxes are coming to Cook County: you can count on that.
- Been There - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:38 pm:
I heard Terry O’Brien beating her up constantly over this very subject. While he was right, and I agreed, for some reason it just didn’t seem that big of an issue to voters and didn’t resonate. As long as the candidate was against Todd on the issue that was good enough. Even if it wasn’t going away immediately.
- Really?? - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:44 pm:
Sometimes it seems as though voters don’t REALLY want politicians to be honest, they just want politicians to say what they want to hear. While it would be truthful for Preckwinkle to say it will take time to assess the county’s fiscal situation and then make a determination as to how the tax repeal would happen without too much damage to services (and I think this is what she’s been saying). Voters just want to hear that the tax will be repealed. Why bog people down with facts and logic?
- George - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:49 pm:
Rich, you don’t get it. It is a contradiction when her statements contradict what the newspapers want her to do, not what she has said before.
- Confused - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:50 pm:
…assess the county’s fiscal situation and then make a determination as to how the tax repeal would happen without too much damage to services…
While logical, I am not convinced this will fly with most Cook County voters. What services do those voters really see coming from the County? Most never see the prisons or the hospitals, which is where most of the tax dollars are spent.
- Upstate - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 3:53 pm:
Preckwinkle has a long history as a tax raiser in the Chicago City Council and she conveniently gives herself four years to repeal a tax her TV ads implied would be repealed immediately. Will anyone remember in four years, when the tax remains in place? Clever politics, but don’t hold your breath on relief for Cook County taxpayers.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 4:06 pm:
So, there ya go.
Any questions?
- Leroy - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 5:18 pm:
Well, it is good to know the tax increase won’t be as hot a topic under a Preckwinkle county board as it was under a Stroger county board.
I guess we are getting adjusted to it after all!
All that brow furrowing and hand wringing back when Stroger was running the show was all for naught.
- just sayin' - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 5:58 pm:
Hey, any day a Cook Co. Republican party official isn’t posting pornography on the web is a good one. A baseless attack is progress.
- anon - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 6:08 pm:
i wish that she would stop phone banking me for campaign contributions. As if she needs my money to win an election as cook county board president as a democrat. her messages on my work and cell phone must stop!
- blackdem - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 6:32 pm:
Suffriden and Daley sold everyone saying the hospital was fiscally ok. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out stimulas money cant be counted as a long term solution but the “Great Hospital Board” didnt say this when they were asked last year before the election. The real clowns are the commissioners They just act as the media says They are not held accountable for what they vote on
- blackdem - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 6:39 pm:
One more Rich..When did you start checking facts???
You are refreshing for being fair dont pick which stories or people you “check the facts” for.
- Mark Allen - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 6:45 pm:
So people who just didnt like Stroger didnt care at all when he repeated over and over again that the County was going to need that money for his predicted $350 million dollar debt and was beat down repeatedly and Preckcinkle says its really $500 million without the media and political frenzy???
- blackdem - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 6:58 pm:
its not about the truth Mark You already know..The Comissioners led by Daley Lied to everyone..The media didnt tell the truth..Now due to a vote by Comissioners..we have a deficit NOT Todd Stroger..But Preckwinkle will get a pass for lying..adding to the anti Stroger movement then selling out to the Daleys..But somehow people believe she is different..That Cook county will be better..You cant get better than 4 balanced budgets and maintaining of vital services for a penny bad unless you are black…Not all that has gone on in his administration but this sales tax crap..UNbelievable
- Tried to Tell You - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 7:11 pm:
It just kills me about all of the talk about the sales tax! First of all, Preckwinkle was Daley’s Candidate all the time! The County was smart along about the need for more revenue and dumb about no need to cut staffing. They should have happened all at once, but the labor unions ended staff cuts. Now, the county does two things which are public safety and public health! Both are either under judicial orders or under independent authority. The County does need to get to about 20,000 people (its at 23,800 now) and the extra money! The people about race is true and not true, its not true due to the fact that the County has alot of fat that needs to be cut. However, this fat has been around since George Dunne while it was all quiet from the media. So both sides of that debate are right! Other Governments are trying to balance their budgets, while jealous about the County!
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 7:11 pm:
Speaking of checking facts, is anyone checking what Stroger gave to the County Commissioners who voted to not override him. Obviously its either jobs or contracts. As Stroger pillages the County fund like a (couldn’t think of a better analogy than the truth) corrupt Cook County politician with a few month left to pilfer, the brazenness will become legendary.
BTW, what is Prekwinkle doing or saying about this other than she thinks she’ll need a whole lot more money because the pigs have turned into hogs.
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 20, 10 @ 7:41 pm:
Toni Preckwinckle is full of it just like all the rest. She was never really and independent, her record shows she voted FOR the machine more often than she did not.
- The 'Dale to HPark - Friday, May 21, 10 @ 9:03 am:
The Trib editorial really ticked me off this morning. These guys are living in a fantasy land. The county is out of money, running a deficit, the deficit is only going to get bigger as the stimulus runs out and the Board just thinks this will go away if they will it? Do they understand the mess that Toni is taking on in terms of all the Stroger and Madigan cronies in County government? Those people aren’t just going to go away… it’s going to be a struggle to get rid of them and then restructure the government. Cook County, like Rome, won’t be built in a day. To
believe other wise is crazy think.
Look I’d love to live in this fantasy land where Illinois budget is as bad as Greece’s, where you can drop Obama bin-Laden in the print addition, where budgets are balanced because the Board willed them to be so… but I don’t. I’m stuck in reality where every state and local government has poor finances. In reality the US just spent at
least $750 billion on a war in Iraq, money that would be pretty useful right now, eh? And then on top of that when a soldier gets home, he’s killed by a few punks… I wonder how that $750 billion could have been spend to clean up the streets across urban America or to spur economic development? But keep your head in the sand Editorial Board and be sure that no one takes you seriously.
- not sure - Friday, May 21, 10 @ 9:05 am:
rich, wake-up. blago’s mug shot was released!!!
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/politics/rod-blagojevich-scandal-mugshot-exclusive-20100520#
- disappointed - Friday, May 21, 10 @ 9:21 am:
I voted for Toni too, but feel completely fooled by her reformer/ independent routine.
Just ran into her recently & was disappointed to hear her real point of view on issues and on this campaign season. It’s too bad to see that her campaign manager is running the show to try & salvage berrios’ campaign. Tells me neither of them are really reformers after all.
- Conservative Republican - Friday, May 21, 10 @ 2:11 pm:
RM
Either the Tribune is lying or you set out a rather slanted post here.
The Trib, in its Friday editorial, specifically cited Preckwinkle’s pledge in February to roll back the sales tax increase immediately and the same pledge in her campaign TV commercial.
Preckwinkle made the promise. Now she has reneged on it completely. A fact which clearly upsets TheDale/HPark
- Art Doyle Jr. - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 3:24 pm:
Why such a fuss over a trivial penny, Take a look at the public school situation in Chicago. Over 35
school administrators making better than $100,000 a year or more and the fact that GET THIS!!! Todays prisons are built upon the studied behaviors and actions of 3rd Graders. That is that their present behavior, reflects their future disposition and how they may deal with everyday societial problems in other words
these very individuals are manufacturing future
hoodlums and thugs that plaque our society today.