Posting Date: July 23, 2008
Sufferin' Suffredin's hypocrisy on the County Board
When Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin was running for Cook County State's Attorney, he told me that he opposed the tax increase package being rammed through by President Todd Stroger.
But once he lost the Democratic primary to Anita Alvarez, he changed his tune and became one of the most vocal proponents of supporting Stroger's repressive 1 percent increase in the county wide sales tax.
This week, Republican County Commissioner Tony Peraica, who has been consistently speaking out against unnecessary tax increases and urging trimming waste and the county's bloated budget, sought to push commissioners to repeal the punitive Stroger Sales Tax.
And who do you think stood up to lead the personal attacks against Peraica, Sufferin' Sufferedin, who, unbelievably made the most ironic comment I ever heard: that Peraica is fighting the sales tax because he wants publicity for his campaign as the Republican candidate for Cook County State's Attorney.
"This is a corruption tax. This is the tax on the inefficiency, fraud, and abuse that we're paying as taxpayers of Cook County," Peraica alleged during the board meeting, according to NPR.
Responded Sufferin' Suffredin, "If you know about corruption, the United State's attorney is at 219 South Dearborn and somebody better go there if they're a responsible elected official."
What a change of tune for Suffredin.
Suffredin was supposed to be the 9th vote to stop the tax increase, but then changed his mind and then supported it allowing Stroger's sales tax increase to pass.
"Commissioner Suffredin is a hypocrite on this issue. Before the election he vowed to stand up to President Stroger and to fight the tax increase, and then when he lost the Democratic Primary, he caved in and changed his vote. He was to be the 9th vote that would have stopped the tax and his change allowed Stroger to impose this repressive tax which harms those residents of Cook County who are in the most economic need today," Peraica said.
Peraica said when elected state's attorney this November, he plans to carefully scrutinize Stroger's actions not only with respect to tax increases but also his alleged failure to properly file his financial disclosure forms.
(An email request to Suffredin was not answered in time for this column but will be posted on my blog at www.OrlandParker.com.)
Another strange moment occurred when Commissioner Debra Sims actually said something - she rarely does - and claimed, somewhat ridiculously that it's not the increasing of the sales tax that is the problem - a tax she supported - but the discussion that the Stroger sales tax increase will push residents of Cook County to seek relief by purchasing items in neighboring counties where the sales tax remains low and as little as only 7 percent.
"As long as we continue to say it's cheaper to buy in Indiana (and) Will and Lake (Counties), then they will continue to keep their taxes down. We're helping their economy. We're not helping our own," Sims said to the mocking laughter and shock of many in the board chamber.
The 1 percent Stroger sales tax increase took effect July 1 over the objections of Cook County business-owners and residents, making Chicago the city with the highest sales tax in the nation, at 10.25 percent.
New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, Peraica said, have sales taxes of less than 8.3 percent. Phoenix, he said, has a tax of 6.3 percent, and Denver's sales tax is only 3.6 percent.
The Cook County Board voted to raise the sales tax at the end of February, after a five-month stalemate on the 2008 budget. Board President Todd Stroger and his supporters ultimately prevailed, saying the tax hike was necessary to provide health care and other services.
The tax hike applies to everything but not groceries, medicine, cars and boats.
You can hear Peraica's interview on Point to Point Podcasts with Ray Hanania by visiting www.TheMediaOasis.com/pointtopoint.htm.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist and author. He can be reached at www.themediaoasis.com.
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