Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Tuesday, October 8
Bad news for smokers (good news for the rest of us): the Cook County Board of Commissioners raised the county tax on cigarettes from 18 cents to a dollar, meaning smokers now pay a total of $2.53 in city, county, state and federal tobacco taxes. The new tax takes effect April 1.