7am News, Sports and Obits

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Study Suggests IL Cigarette Tax to Be Raised $1
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- A report suggests that cash-strapped Illinois could raise $377 million in additional revenue by upping the cigarette tax $1 per pack.

The report by economist Frank Chaloupka at the University of Illinois in Chicago comes at a time that the state is grappling with a budget deficit that experts believe will top $15 billion by June, the end of the current budget year.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports that Illinois last raised its cigarette tax to 98 cents per pack in 2002 and has the 32nd highest cigarette tax.

Senate President John Cullerton calls the revenue generating cigarette tax among the most important agenda items for the coming year. The Chicago Democrat also says the higher tax would reduce Medicaid costs attributed to smoking-related health concerns and reduce people's desire to smoke.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
01 04 11 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.