Cook County's 7-cent checkout-bag tax (Ord. 16-O-49) took effect November 2017 but was repealed October 2017 effective December 2017 after Illinois Retail Merchants Association challenges. No countywide bag fee or ban applies in 2026.
Cook County passed the Disposable Bag Tax Ordinance 16-O-49 in November 2016 imposing a 7-cent fee on checkout bags at retailers. The ordinance took effect November 1, 2017, but the County Board repealed it in October 2017 after intense lobbying and concerns about the Illinois Retailer Occupation Tax preemption. No replacement countywide ordinance has passed. Chicago retains its own 7-cent checkout bag tax. Some Cook County suburbs (Evanston) maintain plastic bag restrictions. Illinois has no statewide bag ban; HB 4377 and similar measures have not advanced.
No current Cook County penalty. Chicago retailers within city limits face Department of Finance fines $200 to $500 per inspection for non-collection of the city bag tax.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Cook County, IL
Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance covers fast food and other large employers within Chicago city limits only. Cook County has not extended predictable scheduli...
Cook County, IL
Illinois has not enacted a healthcare worker minimum wage equivalent to California SB 525. Cook County has no industry-specific healthcare wage ordinance. He...
Cook County, IL
Cook County has not adopted a grocery worker premium wage ordinance like Los Angeles GWRO. Illinois state law sets a $15 statewide minimum wage as of January...
Cook County, IL
Illinois Eavesdropping Act 720 ILCS 5/14 makes it a felony to record private conversations without consent of all parties. Doorbell cameras with audio captur...
Cook County, IL
Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Act 410 ILCS 45 and Cook County Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Program require lead inspections in pre-1978 re...
Cook County, IL
Cook County does not run a countywide systematic code enforcement rental inspection program. Suburbs vary widely: Evanston, Oak Park, Berwyn, and Cicero oper...
See how Cook County's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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