For the most part, there are only two things a politician can do to commit career suicide: Be a crook or raise taxes.
Forgiving voters with short memories have a high tolerance for other types of behavior. Crude remarks caught on tape? No big deal. Pals buying influence? Meh. Look no further than the major party presidential candidates for proof of what people are willing to tolerate in terms of ethical or moral lapses.
But get caught stealing from the till or vote to raise taxes, people remember that.
Todd Stroger knows. As Cook County Board president, Stroger led the effort in 2008 to pass the county’s largest-ever sales tax hike. When elections rolled around in 2010, Stroger finished last in the Democratic primary.
That sales tax hike was eventually partially rolled back, but at the time it riled people, particularly suburbanites. In 2009, voters in Palatine, Barrington and Hanover townships approved a nonbinding referendum to disconnect from Cook County.
Those northwestern townships are still part of Cook County, partly because of how they worded their referendum. They voted to secede from Cook, as if they would form their own, new county.
Now, in Orland Township, voters are facing a similar question. But there’s a key difference. Rather than simply leave Cook, the advisory referendum on ballots for the Nov. 8 election asks whether Orland Township should become part of Will County.
“I think the majority of voters believe the tax and spend policies of Cook County don’t work well in Orland Township,” Paul O’Grady, the township supervisor, told me by phone Thursday.
When it comes to tax increases, voters remember the politicians who vote to raise sales, property and income taxes. That’s why the Democratic-controlled state legislature is waging a messaging war with the Republican governor in this election.
Both sides know cutting services won’t be enough to erase a multi-billion dollar annual budget deficit. More revenue is needed, and most likely that means an income tax increase. But both parties are waiting until after this election to vote for the inevitable tax increase. They’ll have time until the next statewide elections in two years to try to blame the other party.
However, smart politicians can get away with lesser, nickel-and-dime “revenue streams” that raise needed cash without becoming perceived as painful or outrageous tax hikes. Toni Preckwinkle, who succeeded Stroger as Cook County Board president, understands this.
Preckwinkle’s proposed 2017 budget includes a sweetened-beverage tax, which would add a penny per ounce to the cost of sugar- and artificially sweetened drinks if approved by Cook County commissioners this month. The new tax is projected to raise $223.8 million a year, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“I make no apologies for this. I think it’s an effective way to raise revenues, and it has real good health consequences,” the Tribune quoted Preckwinkle as saying at a recent City Club appearance.
Consumers in downtown Chicago are stuck paying these types of so-called “choice taxes” when buying gasoline, tobacco and other products. But suburban businesses near county borders suffer because customers simply skip over the border and pay a lot less for food, gas and cigarettes.
“It’s becoming more and more unfair,” O’Grady said.
In addition to unincorporated areas, Orland Township includes the towns of Tinley Park, Orland Park and Orland Hills. Tinley Park straddles the border and is in both Cook and Will counties.
At 183rd Street and Harlem Avenue, the Speedway gas station at the southwest corner is in Will County while the former state mental health facility property across the street is in Cook. The gas station advertises its freedom from Cook taxes with a large banner.
“It’s one of the busiest stores in the chain,” O’Grady said.
O’Grady expects voters will approve the referendum next week and send county politicians a message about onerous Cook County taxes. Yet, he’s hoping for a clear mandate from citizens about how seriously the township should pursue leaving Cook and joining Will County.
“If it barely passes, maybe we don’t do anything,” he said. “I think it has to be a landslide.”
If the vote is overwhelmingly in favor of the question, then it gets interesting. The state Constitution addresses the process.
“The General Assembly shall provide by law for the formation, consolidation, merger, division, and dissolution of counties, and for the transfer of territory between counties,” the Constitution states. “County boundaries shall not be changed unless approved by referendum in each county affected.”
I asked O’Grady — an attorney — what this means, and he said he didn’t know.
He said if the referendum is widely supported, the next step would be to approach the Will County executive (incumbent Democrat Larry Walsh faces a challenge from Republican Laurie McPhillips) and discuss how receptive Will County is to the notion of accepting Orland Township territory.
I pressed Grady and asked if the constitutional provision means whether Will County voters would not only have to vote to accept Orland, but that Cook County voters would have to approve a measure to formally let them go. Loss of territory, after all, presumably means the loss of revenue from sales and property taxes. That might drive up costs for those who remain, so Cook voters might oppose the move.
“I can’t answer that,” O’Grady said. “I see no reason to engage attorneys and explore that yet. It’s premature.”
O’Grady says the referendum is the result of a grassroots effort by citizens fed up with high taxes. He talked about doctors working for Stroger Hospital of Cook County earning more than $500,000 a year. When they retire, their pensions start at 80 percent of their salaries and increase 3 percent every year.
If Orland Township residents vote big to leave Cook and join Will, I hope the referendum does more than send a message about low tolerance for high taxes. I hope the township seriously pursues transferring its territory.
That would get everyone’s attention, I bet. It also might touch off legal challenges that end up costing money. O’Grady said how seriously the township pursues territory transfer depends on the referendum vote, but he has started thinking about how to pay for it. Crowdsourcing is one possibility.
“One crazy idea I had was to start a GoFundMe campaign,” he said.
Twitter @tedslowik
