- Cook County Health Director Fired
- Funeral Directors Finding Workarounds During Pandemic
- Reading Enthusiast Has Kids Covered In Aurora Subdivision
- Pritzker, Lightfoot Tee Off On Feds, Kushner
- Officials Agree Now: Wear Masks In Public
- Rise Of Coronavirus Coincides With Arrival Of Allergy Season
- Wave To The Easter Bunny This Sunday In Batavia
- Archdiocese Of Chicago Releases Guidelines For Holy Week Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
- DePaul Cites Coronavirus, Drops Plan for Tuition Increase
- Indiana Gets Dozens Of Price Gouging Complaints Amid Virus
- Judge Says No Wisconsin Election Returns Until April 13
- Face Coverings Recommended, Trump Says He Won't Wear One
- Cuomo Orders Shift In Ventilators To Overwhelmed Hospitals
- ‘Lean On Me,’ ‘Lovely Day’ Singer Bill Withers Dies At 81
- With Parks Closed, Disney Starts Furloughs In 2 Weeks
- Navy Fires Captain Who Sought Help For Virus-Stricken Ship
- Memo: Some In US May Not Get Stimulus Checks Until August
- Ill-Fated Cruise Ships Awaiting Approval To Dock In Florida
- Biden Wants To Talk To Trump About Lessons From Past Crises
- Fauci Says He Feels Safe Despite Threats, Is Focusing On Job
- Ed Farmer, White Sox Broadcaster, Former Pitcher, Dies At 70
- Wimbledon Canceled For 1st Time Since WWII Because Of Virus
- 'The Last Dance' Look At Jordan's Last Title Starts April 19
- Red Sox LHP Sale has Tommy John Surgery
- Cubs' Schwarber Feeds Police, Firefighters, EMTs
- As MLB Ponders Post-Virus Season, Players Worry About Health
- Tokyo Olympics Rescheduled For July 23-Aug. 8 In 2021
- MLB Final Pitch Could Be Closer To Christmas Than Halloween
- MLB Uniform Maker Switches To Producing Masks, Gowns
- NFL Keeping Its Draft In April As Scheduled
On Air Now
RADIO.COM
No New Taxes, Fees In Cook County Budget, For Now
WBBM Newsradio/Craig Dellimore
CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has outlined a proposed 2019 budget that contains no new taxes or fees, but her administration is warning against anyone getting too comfortable with the temporarily rosy fiscal forecast.
Preckwinkle told the County Board her administration has been able to close a $300 million budget gap, much of which resulted from the repeal of the unpopular sweetened beverage tax.
But Chief Financial Officer Ammar Rizki says most of the new revenue comes from the unexpectedly high enrollment in the County Care program. County government gets federal payments for those patients.
Officials warn the economic winds won’t be favorable forever. The medical payments could vanish if the entire Affordable Care Act is repealed.
"Without revenue, and I recognize that commissioners have no appetite for new revenue, tough decisions will need to be made," Preckwinkle said.