Gov. walks the line with Stroger bill

Gov. Pat Quinn signed a measure today to make a repeal of Cook County's sales tax easier, but the Chicago Democrat walked a political tightrope in doing so.

The legislation will reduce the number of votes required to override a veto by Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, who pushed the 1 percentage point tax hike last year to save the county's public health system.

Attempts to override Stroger's vetoes of subsequent repeal measures have come up short under the county's unusually high four-fifths requirement. The legislation lowers the bar to a more standard three-fifths vote to override a veto.

But making it easier to repeal the sales tax puts Quinn between two important constituents as he faces a tough primary challenge now and seeks election late next year.

Democratic lawmakers in the suburbs herald the measure as akin to a vote against Stroger's sales tax hike.

Yet, Stroger, who comes from a powerful dynasty on Chicago's South Side, personally lobbied lawmakers against it. Several prominent Stroger backers in Chicago have also chastised a repeal as tantamount to gutting service at the county's hospitals.

While Quinn signed the legislation Saturday, he focused strictly on the 'reform' aspect of the measure that brings the veto override margin in Cook County in line with similar governments.

A news release about the signing made no mention of Stroger's much-maligned sales tax hike.

"We must have fair rules for everyone," Quinn said in the release. "That's the basis for our democracy."

The political problem for Quinn is that support from Stroger and his backers would no doubt be useful as he seeks an election. But Quinn also wants backing from politicians and voters who oppose the sales tax increase.

State Rep. Mark Walker, an freshman Democrat from Arlington Heights, said he sponsored the measure because the sales tax was a top bone of contention for suburban Cook County residents.

"This has been the No. 1 issue that I have heard about from my constituents as I walk door-to-door," said Walker. "It has become a symbol of bad government."

Republicans have seized on the sales tax hike, which gave the region one of the highest tax rates in the nation, to use against Democrats across the Chicago region. Democratic candidates in the suburbs where hit last year with mailers from the GOP featuring Stroger and blasting the tax hike.

A move to repeal or reduce the tax hike could come as soon as Wednesday. Republican Commissioner Tim Schneider of Bartlett has said that if a full repeal pushed by GOP Commissioner Tony Peraica of Riverside fails this Wednesday, he will put forward a measure cutting the tax hike in half that might be more likely to gain support.