There’s been a flood of news on Cook County’s nascent beverage tax, which started hitting customers on August 2nd. The knock-on political impact for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has been brutal so far. She told party bosses at the Cook County Democratic Party slating on Thursday that her administration has been “particularly challenged” as of late, but stood by the tax, saying it “was the right thing to do,” to prevent hundreds of layoffs in key the county’s public safety and health departments.