This isn't to fight obesity. It's just another way for corrupt government to squeeze a little more coin from the folks!

We should ban all sharp objects too. Can you say nanny state?

Poor uneducated people would be the victims of a tax on the insidious poisons corporate America sells without regard to consequences on our society. Thus, we have babies in Appalachia being fed mountain dew instead of juices. Further, we have children in the inner city whose intake of corn syrupy sodas make them doomed to a life of diabetes, and obesity. What would be fair in a perfect world is to go after coke and pepsi the way some very bright(and now super rich) lawyers did to the tobacco cos.

It doesn't work with cigarettes, so why expect that it will work with soda.

Is this what everyone pays their elected officials for? To consistently find more avenues to facilitate a patriarch brand of government.. We are by the people and for the people not by a few ambitious to control the many, is this America or antiquated Rome. An adult should be able to choose what they think is best for themselves, right or wrong. As said it is just a move to raise revenue.. When will they get out of our homes and do the job they were created for. Next they’ll try to tax the air. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE ANYWAY? However let me think??? Hmmm if Chicago puts a tax on pop consider the rush it will create, more folks coming to the burbs to fill their pop fix. After all it’s all about money isn’t it? More for us.. oh that evil sugar.

Chicago bans things like spray paint. Maybe they should ban the sale or importation of video games or even TV's and game apps for smart phones. Restrict internet access to educational web sites. That way they'll get kids outside playing or dodging bullets. Either way the kids will be getting more exercise. Ruh-roh, that would reduce revenue along with obesity. My bad. I forgot that revenue is more important than reducing obesity.

Chicago taxes everything. That is why we don't live there.

We should be grateful to any politician, who we voted into office, for raising taxes to protect us from ourselves. With the momentum in our favor from alcohol gasoline and cigarette taxes, we should write our representatives and thank them for finding such a creative way to increase state income and suggest that they also raise taxes on unhealthy foods. They should protect us from sugary breakfast cereals, donuts, red meat, coffee, pies, potato chips, mayonnaise, sour cream, cookies, cake, ice cream, They could just look at our 1040s and see the age of our dependents, and levy a "deadly dangerous birthday party tax". HEY... how about we raise taxes on dangerous behavior? Skydiving, rollerblading, video gaming (leads to obesity), outdoor recreational sports (leads to injuries), sunbathing (including tanning booths), tattoos, piercings, running marathons, promiscuity (and yes we have to include someone we met out of state, especially if we had any social contact within the state of Illinois) and so far the most dangerous behavior, VOTING.

I like the vote questions too, sorta' leading, eh?
Should We Tax Soda To Discourage Obesity?
Yes. Obesity leads to many health issues and childhood obesity is out of control.
No. I hate America

Babies in Appalachia are not being fed Mountain Few. And we children of Appalachia are smart enough to know that soda is full of sugar. Just like city folk are smart enough to know that triple mocha lattes are full of sugar too. Right? The point is taxing just one class of item. What about chips? Even many 'health items' like some granola bars are laden with high carbs. And juice? Please other than a little apple juice for bowel movement most docs don't recommend juice for babies. The point is also today's culture. No recess, more time on video games, computers, TV, etc. until kids are taught to move more and families start cooking with fresh ingredients and quit eating processed food then nothing will change. Kids if Appalachia have families that actually grow gardens. But even they spend more time in front of computer and TV now, with no recess at school.

This is just an attempt to raise more money while cloaking it as doing so for the good of the public. Most people who drink, smoke, etc. are already aware of the dangers associated with using to excess. Why punish them? It's their bodies & their business. How about banning the lottery? I'm guessing the poor are probably the largest purchasers of lottery tickets & the state knows that, too. Is it ok to raise state money on the backs of the poor?

I meant Mountain Dew. See, with autospell we get even lazier. And of Appalachia, not if. It's all about our lifestyle now. In my neighborhood I actually see kids outside playing. Not organized sports but real play. When I grew up in Appalachia, WV specifically, our parents and grandparents grew gardens. We were outside all the time. Not true for kids today. I think the garden to table, organic movement, giving city families access to fresh food, etc is way to go. Taking away recess did nothing to raise our math and science standing compared to other countries. But we seem to have more kids ADD, etc and on meds. Soda is not culprit. Sure take it out of school. But parents can say no to junk food. If you're gonna tax soda, better tax lattes too. I see lots of kids at Starbucks and such after school.

It's not just the kids. To be fair, a comittee shall be formed(costing money) to identify all nonhealthy and tax at intervals based onthe degree of unhealthiness. This will not only reduce the amount sold (loss of revenue to stores), it can pu additonal money into consumers pockets for spending on other items a could potentially jumpstart the economy. I am
also referring to taxing all unhealthy fastfoods too. It could also drive businesses out of illinois and thus create a statewide crisis or the people will rise to the occasion and start up 'healthy' quick service businesses.

NO! Can we be allowed to make our own choices.

"No. People should be able to make better choices." should not have been the chocie of the poll. The choiced should have been "should people be able to make their own choice?" We all have made mistakes in the past and hopefully learned from them. As long as the research is accurate, not slanted, we should be able to make our own educated choices.

If these people are so concerned abouty health, why are these drinks allowed to be purchased with the SNAP (food stamp) program?

Sure, they know what's best for all of us, that is why we elected them. The track record clearly demonstrates responsibility when it comes to running an efficient and accountable government. The programs they put into place to fight poverty and help people show remarkable success, its about time they dictate to all of us what foods we should eat, cars we should drive, religious rules we should follow, how much income is enough. We should be thanking them for caring so much.

This is really getting out of controll! Enough all ready! Tax this, tax that. Parents are educated enough to know what the healthy benifits are on eating properly. They also know that it is important that their children get exercise as well. If we don't take care of ourselves, more than likely we are not teaching our kids the same. No one is making anyone drink that bottle of soda, or stuff those french fries and big Mac down their kids throats. If someone wants something bad enough, they will drive any where just to get it. Good habits start at the home and trickle down through the schools. They took out all of the pop machines in the lower grades, not sure about the H.S., but it still boils down to choice. As if we the people have any choice on what Gov. will tax and not. Take care of yourself and your family and hopefully they will make healthy decisions as well. Nothing is good for you in excess, but having a soda once in awhile is certainly not going to blow you up to obesity!

If you invented a drink today which had no positive attributes and only negative attributes, was marketed in a decptive way and cost society millions of dollars, would we let in the marketplace? Would we let cigarettes into the market place today?

Who is we? Smart people like you?

How about just stop the subsidies for soy and corn production. It is processed grains and oils that are making us fat. Not just sugars.

This is still a free country. Don',t allow politicians to TELL you what you can eat, drink, say...

WHOM EVER PICKED THE TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE OBVIOUSLY THINKS WE DO Get a dogfrom a local shelter and let him take you out for a way several times a day. That will help Obesity. Its called exercise. You get to meet your neighbors that way.

When I was a kid, my diet was largely pixy sticks, fun dip and soda. I did not play any organized sport, but I was constantly outside. I was not obese nor am I now.

This is just a cash grab. A sedintary lifestyle it the true cause. Lay-z-boy and air conditioning has as more to do with the problems than coca cola.

Id like to see a counter policy made in which soda taxes are refunded to me on my 1040 when I attach my BMI readout. Or if the government is so worried about my health, I assume that my gym membership can now be a write-off?

I once read that over fifty years ago, a scientific study--- proving the harmful effects of sugar---was published and supposedly suppressed by the government. At that time, the sugar lobby maintained that this information would cause the stock market to collapse, and thus jeopardize national security!

Chicago also has a seprate TAX/FEE ON BOTTLED WATER.

People here have commented that good habits start at home. Intelligent parenting. Teaching by example. The following has been my experience. From the moment of conception I cared very well for myself. I have never smoked, used drugs, consumed alcohol. I ate organic. I exercised regularly. My children were brought up in an conscientious and educated environment. We watched little television. My husband and I lived and modeled a healthy lifestyle. As long as our children were young and under our charge all went well. During puberty... our children fell under
the influence of their friends, marketing/advertising and various forms of media.
What do the eat and drink now? All the sugary junk that we so carefully kept from them. As parents we have only so much control over outcomes. My young adults are bombarded daily by marketing and media. If we want to feed the next generations properly...we have to first address what is fed into their minds by the powerful forces
of marketing/advertising and media. So...I contend that the country...nay...the world really care little for the health of children and the populace in general. What apparently more important is making a profit. Money and profit rule this world. I am hopeful that my children will come around eventually. However... I am not so sure about the world they live in!

Maybe we should lower taxes on those of us who exercise and watch what we eat.

You sound superior to the rest of us, since you make intelligient choices. The rest of us are incapable and powerless over profiteers. Lets put decisions like food, income, energy into the hands of a few intelligent people like you, and eliminate profit, jobs, freedom, and the abundance that America has provided to more of the masses than any country in the history of man. Are you sure your name is not Barack?

I find it interesting that far more people seem interested in taxing soda than keeping marijuana illegal (as we saw from the recent LFP poll in which roughly 90% of people polled that they wanted marijuana legalized.)

The problem comes down to education, which is based on property taxes. That means the poor continue to be exploited by corporate America in a class system which only rewards the accumulation of great wealth and scoffs at those who would serve the greater good as teachers and firemen. When your world is limited to the shops at bannockburn you live in a bubble like Mitt. Why don't those poor fat people just borrow money from their parents and educate themselves and not drink the poison of the profiteers?

When your world is encompassed by a colon that surrounds your head, you live in a world like Obama. There are more and more people who now are considered poor and without jobs, and the only scapegoat available are the ugly profiteers.

Wow Patch has finally hit a cord with the rabid right
Just say T A X and the tissey hissey fits begin.
I think a better approach to address obesity would be to ban plastic bottles. Glass with deposits are healthier And
Don't discourage jobs.

What jobs? All the jobs are gone, since hiring someone today means unknown costs in 2014 when Obama fees kick in. Rabid left wing policies like Obamacare, wasteful stimulus slush funds, and bank and auto industry bailouts have depleted the source.

Here we go again, the state is broke beyond belief and as usual the politicians only answer is to raise or create new taxes! I know several smokers and NOT ONE quit or cut back because the state gouged them with ridiculous taxes, so what makes them think this tax will combat obesity? What did happen is money was taken directly out of they're discretionary funds, money that they would spend elsewhere, helping to stimulate this stagnant economy. But wait, the crooks in Springfield have proven themselves competent, by the way they spend the billions we already send them...NOT!!! Anyone who believes that this would be anything but another cash cow is naive beyond belief!! It's just more money that crooked politicians would funnel to they're politically connected cronies....same shi*, different tax!!!

Another "non scientific" poll, that shows people are overwhelmingly against this BS, but you watch, as usual the politicians will vote in favor of this ill-conceived nonsense! Kinda makes you wonder exactly who they represent...must be that 27% that thinks this is a good idea. Who are you people??

As a fitness professional, I'd love to see people choose better beverages than soda. Freedom of choice is a significant component of all health discussions. Should people who choose to smoke pay higher insurance rates? Should obese people pay more to fly? Should people who drink beverages that are inherently unhealthy be taxed? Arguments could certainly be made - and are - for either side. The challenge with soda is more economic than nutritive. Orange juice has as much sugar in it as soda, but is three times the price. For families who are financially challenged, the equation boils down to 'three 2-liter bottles of Coke, or one half gallon of orange juice?' Same with McDonalds or KFC; where can I feed my family the most food for the least money? Most consumers, regardless of economic class, have a sense of what is, and what is not, healthy food. Until the time comes when four pounds of chicken breast costs the same as feeding a family of four at McDonalds, lower-quality foods and beverages will continue to be a mainstay of society. Personally and professionally,I really hope people will choose the best available foods. Taxing soda/pop, however, is not a health issue; it is only designed to pump additional revenue into state government, using the economically challenged as a scapegoat.

OTHER PRODUCTS NEED TO HAVE A HEAVEY TAX ALSO:

Cookies
Tea Drinks
ICE CREAM
SUGAR
DONUTS
OTHER BAKERY GOOD

The only time we drink pop/soda/sugar drinks in our family is sometimes when we are our for a meal. but that is not very often. The #1 drink in our house is good ole water and our two kids Hailey 10 and Luke 7, are more a custom to asking for water than anything else. And of course like all kids they learn from the example you as a parent set for you and your family. Look there are some of us out there that will abuse things like pop ect...but why do we think that a higher tax on this or anything else will correct the problem? We all need to be our own compass in life and stop trying to control everyone else.

aDDITIONAL:

CEREAL
TELEVISONS
COMPUTERS
COMPUTER GAMES

Now the Soda police. This issue is similar to red light cameras all they want is our $. They also seem to want to be our family too.Well I guess we need the government to step in because families are a thing of the past?

Yes, raise the tax. Also forbid fat people from parking too close to the grocery store, because they need the exercise anyway. Also, charge them more at the fast-food restaurants for each pound they are overweight or obese. Offer them free salad bars too.

Where is the extra tax money going? What a bunch of garbage

It's time to tax the politician's pensions for their ineffective management and budget planning. They work to further their own interests at the expense of ours. IL does not tax pension income. How convenient. Who do you think created that law?

Every time a d politico speaks we need to tax him $1000 a word. They don't say anything just a bunch of carbo dioxide. They ad to that global warming thing. I was going to say we should tax them for thinking but they don't think anyway. The d politicos don't believe in freedom of choice, personal responsibility, they believe that the citizen is stupid and all their choices need to be made for them.

A study of diets now vs. years ago shows that most of the increase of calories in modern diets comes from fresh fruits & veggies. Lets tax those, too.

Have I been living on the moon these past many years? When did the local nomenclature for POP change to SODA? One of the unique things about "Chicagoese" is that only in the Chicago area is the term POP used or Soda Pop. In the rest of the country, the term Soda is used. In Chicago, SODA is an ice cream soda!

Does the proposed ordinance use the word 'soda' or 'pop' or 'soda pop'?

Also, does it include diet pop?

Seymour Schwartz

I have enjoyed reading all of these responses. Good humor for a Sunday evening, and McCloudmom is my favorite. Don't we already have an incredibly high sales tax? Where does all that money go? I find it increasingly annoying that no matter how much deficit spending we do, the problem is always a lack of "revenue" (which the politicians need to be reminded is actually "tax receipts"...a big difference). Politicians, and almost exclusively Democratic, seem to forget the money is ours and not theirs to tax and spend with every new whim of the moment. Even if a few cents extra on each soda could help with their cause of the day, it's unprovable. But the extra tax receipts they receive would just feed the spending beast. Their is no will in Springfield to stop spending, so please help remove the party in power this November.

Anyone feel like going out for a burger and coke

Hey Mccloudmom. You ever see Steven Colbert? Do you really think he's one of you? Colon? Seriously. The extreme right, always on the wrong side of history and always quick to believe the big lie and go scatological when they run out of talking points.

All of us Americans need to get used to revenue grabbing under the premise of something else. Cig taxes to save lives, alcohol taxes to save lives, speed cameras to save lives, tax sugar to save lives, tax high calorie foods to save lives. But the reality is not to save lives but to raise revenue. The new American revolution is coming just as soon as our Constitution is set aside and that day is soon here folks. It is only going to get worse fellow Americans and we all know what has to happen at some point. God bless all my fellow Americans.

And whom do you consider your fellow Americans?

Oh Seymour- Kansas Citians say "pop" as well. At least they used to. When I lived in Missouri, the way one discerned one's living location was what they said- soda for St. Louis and the eastern part of the state, and pop for Kansas City and the western side.

I am glad to see a lot of patriots on Patch advocating getting the government out of our business. I fully agree that we should be free to choose what we drink, "healthy" or not.

I will assume that everyone here that disagrees with the tax also disagrees with the criminalization of marijuana, which is even less proven to be harmful, yet the government takes obscene and unconstitutional steps well beyond a mere tax to prevent people from making their own decisions about it.

If the corporations that produced thie stuff paid their fair share in taxes, stupid gimmicks like this wouldn't be necessary. When one segment doesn't do it's share to help raise revenue, another segment has to make up for it. That is, if we want adequate infrastructure, police and fire services, hospital emergency rooms, food, air, and water without lethal toxins, etc.

Corporations do not pay taxes in reality. They price their products to account for the government "dipping their beak" and the consumer ends up paying the corporate taxes in the final analysis. But it makes for good politico-speak to blather about corporations paying "their fair share".

BTW Sully, unless you make use of the emergency room at Stroger hospital, emergency rooms are not paid for by tax dollars... but don;t let facts get in the way of your rant.

Gee Gramps, so sorry. But who pays when those without insurance or funds use the emergency room?

And I suppose Gramps, that it's perfectly okay for multi-millionaires to fleece the people anyway they can because that's the free market, right? The job creators need those extra millions for something, I'm sure.

I suggest a history class for you, free markets somehow connects to a bad thing in your mixed up head. Free markets like ones we still have here in this country show efficiency and innovation leading to prosperity. Collectivism in markets shows a poor outcome, read some history for that. Maybe start with Cuba, Soviet Union, then get your way toward socialist Europe, Greece, ect.

Nightcrawler, does that mean we should start saying da, dese, dat, dunno, eyetalian,
Chicaaaawgo, oiyhara (oops, my 'misteak') ?

Sully, thanks for the heads up. I didn't know that 'pop' was used in western Missouri. Wonder if it is used anywhere besides Chi. and KC. Is deep dish pizza invented here, green river pop, black cow, Chicago style hot dog apocryphal or truly unique or first invented in-to Chicago? I know 16 inch softball which I grew up with is a Chicago phenomenon but I was once told it is also played somewhere else in the country. Anything else that is a Chicago first or unique to us?

Sorry seems bitter, just remember what a great man once said, strive for equality over freedom and you get neither, strive for freedom over equality and you get a little of both.

Republicans would like that Government be ideology enforcers so this actually seems like something they would go for....except...it says 'tax'. It impacts the poor and not the wealthy so that should be okay with them and it attempts to control people so that should be okay. Yep, it's got to be the 'tax' thing that bothers them about this hair brained proposal.

Who said RB likes new taxes? I'm against this stupid idea of taxing soda. It goes after the wrong people and is just another excuse to continue corporate welfare. Let's tax those who can least afford it instead of those who can afford it ten times over. That's the American way! After all, Mitt and his buddies may need their sixth mansions.

Where in my post did I say that I like new taxes and fees? I used the opportunity to point out that telling someone that soda drinking leads to obesity by taxing the soda COULD qualify as another Republican attempt to implement ideology. Because its a tax, I explained it could not be a part of the Republican Ideology Enforcement. Remember, Republicans don't support new tax revenue.
Read what I said again.
Republican Ideology Enforcement does not pursue these changes through taxes. It's being done through the courts, voter suppression, fear mongering and Corporate control, but not through taxes. Voiding... Abortion Rights, gay rights, the right to vote....all that stuff that does not involve new taxes (other than poll taxes)... that's true Republican Ideology Enforcement.

Did I say only republicans are wealthy?

I only mentioned one name, so I left out quite a few republicans as well.

When is everyone going to relize that partasian politics only benefit the party? It's why Illinois is amongst the worst States with regards to corruption, partasian "Chicago Style" politics.

And Sully, the State does not automatically pick up the tab for uninsured people who show up at emergency rooms. The majority of that money is written off to bad debt, if the patient is unable/unwilling to pay.

i grew up in the 60's. Whenever I pull out the photos from the days of my youth, including when I was in my 20's and 30's, I am often astonished at how thin ALL of us were. It didn't matter your race, income level or color, we were thin and skinny. Why??? Because we jumped rope, played ball, rode our bikes and hopscotched! Guess what? We drank pop, ate candy and chips and ice cream. Our families ate homemade dinner together. Dinners included vegetables, potatoes and dessert, yet, we remained thin. Why??? Because we were active! Last summer, my two teenaged granddaughters, who reside in the State of Georgia, stayed with me a couple of weeks. Whenever we were out and about, and would see people on their bikes (young and old), my girls would start laughing. When I asked them why they laughed, they replied..."riding a bike is lame". I was shocked at their response. They went on to tell me that in their town, one would be ridiculed for riding a bike or jumping rope because you came across as a loser. I was speechless. I couldn't believe what they were saying to me. Naturally, I had to give them a good dose of common sense and a good lecture about health. And yes, these girls watched TV all day and night and would text continuously! A soda tax??? RIDICULOUS!!!!

As one of the uninsured, I understand how the process works only too well, I've had to pay those inflated bills. I was trying to point out that the state does not pay the hospital bills for the majority of the uninsured people who show up at an emergency room, as Sully kind of implied in an earlier post.

Sorry. My point was that money is always recouped somehow. When one person doesn't pay, another one does.

Obesity and healthcare costs are both out control. It's interesting that Mrs. Obama has taken on obesity in children as a challenge and the President has tackled healthcare access. Timely?

Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited on average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass. Thanks.
www.hcg1234.com

Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food energy intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. Thanks.
http://www.ipc-athletics.org/how-epr-800-works/

Will the tax help reduce the number of fat heads in the city council?