Good News in Illinois!

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

We have a bill!

Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) has sponsored HB 2462. This bill, if passed will return to Illinois consumers the right to purchase wine from out of state retailers, wine clubs and auction houses.

While this is a great start, we need more house members behind the bill. I urge you to contact your State Reps and aske them to support the bill and to co-sponsor it.

You can find the contact information for your State Rep by clicking here.

If you haven’t already, please join the Illinois Wine Consumer Coalition.

In the meantime, please read the Press Release from the IWCC:

For Immediate Release: February 24, 2009

Illinois Wine Consumers Support New Wine Shipping Bill

—HB 2462 Would Give Back Illinoisans Access to Wines—

The Illinois Wine Consumer Coalition (IWCC), a grass roots organization of Illinois wine consumers, announced it’s full and active support for HB 2462, a bill that would return to Illinois consumers a right to have wine shipped to them from out-of-state wine stores. HB 2462 would return this right that was stripped from Illinoisans in 2007.

Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) is the sponsor of HB 2462. In addition to giving back to Illinoisans access to wines, it would assure the state of Illinois collects significant tax revenue from out-of-state retailers on all wines shipped to consumers in Illinois, as well as revenue resulting from the cost of a “Retailer Wine Shipper” permit all out-of-state retailers would have to obtain before shipping.

Bill Would Raise Revenue for State, Create Access to Wine, Protect Minors

“This is a great bill for Illinois consumers as well as the state of Illinois,” said Gretchen Neuman, a member of the IWCC Steering committee. “If passed it would return to Illinoisans a basic right to access wines that they lost when special interests sought to protect their own profits.

“In addition, HB 2462 provides significant protection against minors obtaining alcohol via direct shipment. The bill requires that out of state retailers use the same precautions that protect our children that wineries use when shipping wine into Illinois.”

The IWCC thanks Representative Hamos for standing up for Illinois consumers as well as for the interests of the state of Illinois. Illinois possesses one of the most vibrant wine consuming populations in the nation. Its citizens have lost access to the full range of wines in the U.S. Market place due to the State’s onerous restrictions on shipping.

The IWCC urges all Illinois wine lovers to join the Illinois Wine Consumer Coalition and call their state representatives asking them to support and to co-sponsor HB 2462. The IWCC website contains contact information for all Illinois state representatives and can be found at: http://www.illinoiswineconsumers.org.

About the Illinois Wine Consumer Coalition

The IWCC gives a voice to Illinois wine consumers and works to protect consumer interests where wine-related consumer legislation is concerned. For more information about the IWCC or make a donation, contact us at: http://www.illinoiswineconsumers.org.

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Contact:

Gretchen Neuman, IWCC Board of Directors

312-618-1145 • info@illinoiswineconsumers.org

Tags: HB 2462, Julie Hamos

This entry was posted on February 24, 2009 at 12:35 am and is filed under Illinois, Wine Access. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.