Crain’s Headlines: Cook County OKs 3% Tax on Pot Sales


The Cook County Board has OK’d a 3% tax on marijuana sales.

Thursday’s action means, come summer, people buying cannabis in Chicago will pay 6% in local pot taxes, in addition to the state tax on pot, which ranges from 10% to 25%, depending on the potency of the product being purchased.

Thanks to our sponsors:

View all sponsors

Local tax collections won’t start until July, and county officials do not expect to see revenues until late 2020. 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle says the new tax puts Cook County in line with the surrounding counties.

In other Chicago-area business news:

The University of Illinois just approved a tuition increase for in-state students, the first such hike in six years.

The move means Illinoisans attending the campuses at Urbana-Champaign and Chicago will pay nearly 2% more in base tuition starting in the fall of this year. In-state freshmen at the university’s Springfield campus will pay 1% more.

And finally, Crain’s reports that after four years of increases, luxury home sales in the Chicago area fell 6.5% in 2019.

Property taxes are one factor weighing on the market for homes valued at $1 million and up. But agents say another factor driving the decline is a shortage of attractive, market-ready homes for sale. 


Crain’s Headlines is a joint production between WTTW and Crain’s Chicago Business. It airs every Monday through Thursday on the WTTW News program “Chicago Tonight.” 


Thanks to our sponsors:

View all sponsors

Thanks to our sponsors:

View all sponsors