So Prickwrinkle Lied?

It wasn't about the health of people/folks who aren't paying the tax anyway?

• More than 300 Cook County employees have been laid off after a proposed county soda tax was indefinitely stalled by a lawsuit, county officials said Friday.
  
  Each county department had to cut 10 percent of its budget to meet the shortfall, according to a statement from County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
  
  In addition to the layoffs, more than 600 vacant positions will go unfilled, she said.
  
  "I regret that these actions are necessary — and I deeply regret the impact they have on individual employees," wrote Preckwinkle, noting that she proposed the soda tax in part to avoid such significant budget cuts.

As someone pointed out, Cook County government is bigger than the government of many states, so we're supposed to feel sorry for them?

• Cutbacks to vital offices in the county's criminal justice system could have a significant impact, authorities said.
  
  The state's attorney's office announced that 17 prosecutors will be laid off, plus 22 other staffers. In addition, non-union staffers, prosecutors included, will be required to take two unpaid furlough days, according to spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.
  
  Simonton declined to comment on the impact of losing nearly 20 prosecutors, but earlier this summer officials told the Chicago Tribune that the office was already understaffed as violence continued to spike at levels unseen in two decades. As a result, the office has made policy shifts, including a plan to stop prosecuting certain traffic offenses altogether.

We have some suggestions:

• Lay off any prosecutors for weed;
• Lay off any prosecutors in the shoplifting department;
• Lay off any prosecutors in the "Throwing babies out 8-story windows" department;

That should balance the budget by Tuesday.