Easily beating back a challenger who sought to capitalize on the soda tax debacle, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle claimed victory Tuesday night over former Chicago Ald. Bob Fioretti as she seeks what she says will be her final term.

In comments to reporters after her speech, she took a jab at those who had attacked her over the tax.“It turns out I won the election, thank you,” she said. “If you want good government, you have to pay for it.”

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Preckwinkle had about 61 percent of the vote to Fioretti’s 39 percent in the Democratic primary. There were no Republican candidates in the race for board president, meaning Preckwinkle is all but certain to retain her post in November.Chicago SunTimes