Now that it’s cleared the Senate, we look at SB754 in the Illinois House:
After clearing the Illinois Senate with overwhelming support, the bill that will shape the future of craft beer in Illinois is now in the hands of lawmakers in the Illinois House. The first order of business is to find a sponsor for the legislation. State Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) carried the load in the Senate. In the House those duties will fall to State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley). Mautino is a 20 year veteran of the legislature and sits on a number of high profile committees including the infamous Rules Committee. His family also owns a distributorship.
According to the Mautino Distributing Company’s website they can provide everything from apple juice to napkins…and beer, wine, whiskey, vodka, etc. In fact, Mautino Distributing is listed as the Spring Valley, IL distributor for California based Oak Ridge Winery.
The Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, who currently support SB754, also have an award named after Frank’s late father Richard Mautino. According to an ABDI press release the Richard A. Mautino Industry Service Award, “is given for outstanding contributions to the beer distribution industry. The award is named in honor of the late Richard A. Mautino, who was Vice President of Mautino Distributing Co. in Spring Valley, Illinois.”
If anyone was hoping the House would further amend the bill and either up the barrel limit from the current 7,500 barrels or remove the requirement for brewpubs to have a second location, this might just seal the fate of SB754.