Illinois Bell Telephone Co. v. Allphin

By this action filed in 1973 in the circuit court of Cook County plaintiff, Illinois Bell Telephone Company (Bell), seeks to have certain of its revenues declared exempt from the Illinois messages tax (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 120, par. 467.1 et seq.) and to enjoin the defendant, the Department of Revenue (the Department), from collecting the taxes at issue. The Department moved to dismiss on the ground Bell had failed to exhaust its administrative remedy, and this motion was denied by the circuit court. This court, after allowing a direct appeal under its Rule 302(b) (73 Ill. 2d R. 302(b)),…