Cook County "Violence Tax" And Budget Public Hearings

Cook County (IL) Board President Toni Preckwinkle is going ahead with her proposed "violence tax" on arms and ammunition. It has been included in the proposed 2013 Executive Budget for Cook County. The tax officially called the Firearms and Firearm Ammunition Tax would levy a $25 fee per firearm on all new gun purchases as well as a 5 cent per round tax on all ammunition sales. The full text of the proposed Cook County Firearm and Firearm Ammunition Tax Ordinance can be found here.

The board will hold four public hearings on the 2013 Executive Budget over the next week beginning this evening. The National Shooting Sports Foundation has issued an action alert on these hearings and suggests that those who can attend one of these meetings make their voice heard. The hearing date and times are below. Note that if you want to testify you must sign up first.

Over the next week, there have been four public hearings scheduled on the proposed 2013 Executive Budget. If possible please attend one these hearings and testify in opposition to the tax. You must sign up first to testify.

Date	Time	Location
Thursday, Oct. 25	6:30 p.m.	Second District Courthouse 5600 Old Orchard Road, Conf. Room 201 Skokie, IL
Friday, Oct. 26	9 a.m.	Cook County Building 118 N. Clark St. Board Room, Rm. 569 Chicago, IL
Tuesday, Oct. 30	6:30 p.m.	Sixth District Courthouse 16501 S. Kedzie Pkwy., Courtroom 098 Markham, IL
Thursday, Nov. 1	6:30 p.m.	Fourth District Courthouse 1500 South Maybrook Dr., Courtroom 106 Maywood, IL

Even if you can't attend one of these hearings, the NSSF suggests calling the members of the Cook County Board and expressing your displeasure over the "violence tax". A list of board members and their phone numbers can be found here.

As Sebastian noted earlier this month, taxing a constitutional right for the purposes of discouraging it is unconstitutional. I'm sure the Second Amendment Foundation has no problems taking more money from the Chicago-area politicians in attorney's fees. That said, I think everyone involved would just as soon see this stopped dead in its tracks at the county board level.