Primeco Personal Communications, L.P. v. Illinois Commerce Commission

In this case, we are asked to decide whether the “municipal infrastructure maintenance fee” (the municipal IMF) (see 35 ILCS 635/20 (West 1998)), part of the Telecommunications Municipal Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act (35 ILCS 635/1 et seq. (West 1998)), violates the uniformity clause of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IX, § 2). The municipal IMF is a fee which municipalities are allowed to impose on telecommunications retailers as a percentage of the retailers’ gross charges to their customers. The plaintiffs in this case are all wireless telecommunications retailers.…