Fight over sales tax cut goes down to wire

Up to now, the faces of the political war over Cook County's unpopular sales tax have been Board President Todd Stroger fighting to keep last year's penny-on-the-dollar hike in place and a majority of county commissioners pushing to roll it back.

Behind the scenes, the labor unions that have stood with Stroger and the business community, which has been howling from the start about the 2008 sales tax increase, have been campaigning hard -- particularly as this looms as a pivotal issue in the 2010 elections.

While commissioners today are expected to successfully override Stroger's veto of a half-penny-on-the-dollar rollback, the lobbying is expected to continue until they …