Well, I do.
PolitiFact leans left and so does the Illinois version of it. That edition is co-sponsored by the Better Government Association.
In an article about the massively unpopular Cook County sales tax, Politifact Illinois turns it into a story about the Illinois Policy Institute, a free market organization that favors low taxes and fewer government regulations.
What's not to like about Illinois Policy?
Take a look at this snarky headline in the PoltiFact article about the sugary drink tax: Chicago soda tax throws a batting practice fastball to Illinois Policy Institute. And it jabs Illinois Policy for positioning "the drink tax in a consumer unfriendly light." Didn't I just say the tax is extremely unpopular? In a recent poll, 87 percent of respondents in Cook County said that they oppose the soda tax.
PolitiFact seems upset about that that "unfriendly light" from Illinois Policy. Why isn't it angry about the soda tax?
As soft drink consumers and sellers came to grips with the new charges, the libertarian Illinois Policy Institute – never a fan of any tax, and a particularly harsh critic of the tax habits of Cook County and Chicago – framed the drink tax in a consumer unfriendly light.
"The new tax will make soda sold in Chicago among the most expensive in the country," the institute said in a tweet and in the headline of an article on its website.
That is a little like proclaiming the sun rises in the east, but given intense public interest in the soda tax we thought it was a worth a look anyway.
Politifact Illinois is shameless even though it ruled Illinois Policy Institute's Twitter claim as "True."The new soda tax makes soda sold in #Chicago among the most expensive in the country https://t.co/2JYANKDrcs pic.twitter.com/KiUS5vzIYT— Illinois Policy (@illinoispolicy) August 3, 2017
Bias. Plain and simple.
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