New Liquor Legislation To Restore Full Reciprocity To Illinois

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Feb 23, 2009 7:45PM

As we've covered before, the big losers in the passage of HB 429 in 2007 were out-of-state retailers looking to sell their wines to customers in Illinois. A bill introduced last Friday by state Representative Julie Hamos (D - Evanston) could restore the rights of those retailers to do business in Illinois.

If passed in its current form, HB 2462 will allow wine retailers outside Illinois to apply for a "Retail Wine Shipper Permit." Under the terms of the legislation, these retailers would pay a permit fee, be responsible for all Illinois state sales taxes from their business transactions with Illinois consumers, remit reports on shipments to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, and submit themselves to the legal and regulatory jurisdiction of the State of Illinois.