Duh!

Must we do all of the Toddler's thinking for him?

• Not even a month after the Cook County Board made massive cuts to pass a $3 billion budget, next year's deficit is already in the millions.
• The county had lowered its expectations for cigarette sales, from $223 million expected last year to $175 million this year, but it's falling short of that mark already.
• County Finance Chairman John Daley wasn't alarmed by the numbers, though he said the recorder's shortfall "is unusual and we're going to have to address it." Though Recorder Gene Moore did not return calls, Fratto said that drop is likely based on slow home sales.

If you tax it, people will flee the jurisdiction and buy their products elsewhere. We see it everyday, coppers and other residents doing all their shopping in the surrounding suburbs, or crossing the border into Indiana for gas and smokes. We ourselves run quite a thriving business transporting cheap cigarettes ... ah, never mind that last part. It never happened.