Consolidated Distilled Products, Inc. v. Allphin

On April 17, 1974, twenty-two importing distributors of wine filed an action in the circuit court of Cook County, seeking to have a portion of section 1 of article VIII of the Liquor Control Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1969, ch. 43, par. 158) declared unconstitutional. Under the Liquor Control Act, prior to July 15, 1971, distributors of wine made from grapes grown in Illinois enjoyed a lower tax rate than did distributors of wine made from grapes grown elsewhere. Although Public Act 77—295, effective July 15, 1971, amended the statute and eliminated that tax differential (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch.…