Sales tax hike sends Cook County shoppers across state lines

As Cook County's newly increased sales tax rate entered its second day Wednesday, shoppers from communities along the county's border with Indiana flocked to retail outlets across the state line, where taxes are now more than 3 percent lower.

The new Cook County rate of 10.25 percent-an increase of one percentage point-dwarfs Indiana's statewide sales tax rate of 7 percent. While the influx of shoppers from Illinois to Indiana is not a new occurrence, businesses and public officials in Illinois border communities have expressed alarmed about the potential blow the new tax boost could deal to the local economy.

"It doesn't bode well for our community," said Tom Cornwell, board member and former president of the Calumet City Chamber of Commerce. "It's certainly going to have a negative impact on us. For a lot of businesses right on the border this might be the straw that breaks their backs."

Cars bearing Illinois license plates rumbled into grocery store parking lots in Hammond, Ind., as Cook County residents showed little hesitation to drive a few extra miles to get the best possible value-especially on grocery items, many of which are not taxed at all in Indiana.

"I live in Illinois and I come here for everything I can-groceries, cigarettes, gas," said Debra Gize of Dolton, located six miles from Hammond. "You can really save a lot of money by coming here."

Janice Minton-Kutz, vice president of the Calumet City Chamber of Commerce, admitted that even local officials cannot escape the allure of lower prices in the neighboring state. "I go, and I'm the vice president of the chamber of commerce," Minton-Kutz said. "Most people in our communities do, with the immediate proximity of Indiana."

The commuters' gain, for the most part, is local business' loss. As more and more regular customers venture across the border, fewer and fewer dollars are spent within Cook County border towns.

"I think it'll discourage people from shopping with us, especially the guys who are making big purchases and looking to save some money," said Ed Waxmansky, branch manager of Richard's Building Supply in Calumet City. Waxmansky thinks the Cook County Board's decision to raise taxes will have unforeseen consequences for local enterprises.

"If they want to bring business here, they need to be lowering the sales tax, not raising it," he said.