Chicago Tribune Co. v. Johnson

On July 19, 1982, the circuit court of Cook County held that the plaintiff, the Chicago Tribune Company (the Tribune), was exempt from liability under provisions of the Use Tax Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 120, par. 439.1 et seq.) on its purchase of machinery for a new printing facility. The appellate court reversed (119 Ill. App. 3d 270), and we granted the Tribune’s petition for leave to appeal under Rule 315 (87 Ill. 2d R. 315).

On September 9, 1979, the Tribune announced the beginning of construction on its new printing facility in Chicago, which was to be known as the “Freedom Center.”…