Early this week, an Illinois appeals court upheld a temporary restraining order issued a few weeks ago against the 1 cent per ounce Cook Country soda tax. In response, county officials threatened as many as 1,100 country employees would be laid off as a result of the decision. The new tax was projected to raise over $67 million in the current fiscal year and as much as $200 million in FY2018. The original court order, granted in a lawsuit brought by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, had been issued to run through this past Wednesday, but has now been extended until July 21, when the county’s motions to dismiss will be debated before the court.