Mar 5, 2008 6:33 pm US/Central
Palatine Considers Leaving Cook Co. Over Tax Hike
PALATINE, Ill. (CBS) ―
A suburban community is considering a radical way to protest the increase in the Cook County sales tax. In an act of the ultimate revolt, Palatine is looking into the possibility of breaking away from Cook County entirely, perhaps forming its own county or joining another one.
As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, Palatine resident Pete Larsen says Cook County government needs to cut taxes, just like he got a haircut Wednesday.
"Spending in Cook County is completely out of control between graft, corruption, and friends and family," Larsen said.
He's one of thousands of people in Palatine and surrounding communities like Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, and Arlington Heights who support the idea of seceding from Cook County and creating their own.
"The devil is always in the details, but it sounds like a great idea to me," Larsen said.
Creating an entirely new county was one of three ideas discussed Monday by palatine council members.
"What does a new county look like? Or what does it look like if we join Lake County? Is it economically feasible? We're not sure, today," Palatine council member Scott Lamerand said. "We've been at this for five days."
People in palatine have been complaining for years about having to pay higher taxes than their neighbors.
With the new Cook County hike, the sales tax will increase to 10 percent while the rate in neighboring communities that belong to Lake County is just 7 percent.
"People are going to want to save money any way they can and so if it means driving a little farther I think that might happen, unfortunately," said Palatine resident Michelle Aikman.
Business owners are especially concerned about the tax increase.
Jason Landry owns The Ultimate Backyard, a bathtub retail store that competes with many others just short drive away in Lake County.
"I feel that the taxes are going to be a big detriment to people who are in the retail industry because people are going to take their business to a different county," he said.
The Palatine Council has already named a committee to study the issue and come up with a recommendation. But, creating a new county requires local and county-wide referenda and they also need the support of the state's legislature.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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