Residents in Cook County have been speaking out against the beverage tax since it was passe by the county commission last November. Now a second generation owner of a local grocery store says her family is looking to expand their business, but not in Cook County.

A Chicago Tribune editorial captured the opposition of Stephanie Dremonas, whose father built Pete's Fresh Market from the ground up to one of Chicago's most popular grocery stores. "You have to find a cheaper way of doing business and none of them have been in Cook County," says Dremonas.

At the Cook County board of commissioners meeting last week, many other business owners also expressed how the beverage tax and the business climate has shut down ideas of opening new facilities or expanding existing ones in Cook County. This tax is "a jobs killer," says the editorial, coming from an "anti-business, anti-growth, anti-jobs agenda."

This beverage tax combined with others, says the editorial board, is driving small businesses outside of the city. Lawmakers everywhere should learn from this poor policy and listen to the voices of their constituents.