Documents recently released by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission show that Chairman Steve Schnorf would not grant a new hearing in the case, despite pleas to do so from lawmakers in both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate.
The documents include letters from state lawmakers and an email from Chairman Schnorf.
The letters are dated November 16th and November 20th. The email is dated November 20th as well.
All five documents were released by the Commission on December 5th and can be found below.
The letters from the lawmakers were sent to both the governor and the Commission’s chief legal counsel. In those letters lawmakers make an 11th hour plea for a rehearing in the case. “SB 754 (P.A. 97-0005), the bill passed by the General Assembly in direct response to this particular dispute, should have made it abundantly clear to the Commission that ABI’s ownership interest is not permitted,” the letter states.
The Commission, on October 31st, voted to allow Anheuser-Busch – through a wholly owned subsidiary – to retain a minority interest in Illinois distributor City Beverage – settling a years-long dispute.
In response to the letters Chairman Schnorf outlined, in an email to Chief Legal Counsel Richard Haymaker and Liquor Control Commission Executive Director Gloria Materre, that he would not grant the request for an appeal because no new evidence had been introduced by the lawmakers.
“I told you that I had reviewed the original letter to Rick, determined that the two main points raised (had we properly considered whether the Liquor Control Act was an act of authorization, and had we given proper weight to legislative intent) were not new issues, that the Commission had considered both of them at length during it’s [sic] deliberations, and that because of that I believed there was no value in the same people re-visiting the issues they had already considered and ruled on less than three weeks ago. I told you that I would not authorize Rick to file a Petition for Rehearing,” said Schnorf.
“We’re Not Done With That Yet”
With no new hearing set in the case the next course of action for lawmakers opposed to the Commission’s decision is to pursue legislation – which is currently in the works.
We spoke with State Representative Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley), chief sponsor of the aforementioned SB 754, two weeks ago in Springfield. He said he would be introducing a bill to prevent A-B from holding its minority interest in City Beverage. “We’re not done with that yet,” said Mautino.
Mautino wouldn’t say when that legislation would be introduced.
“It’s incredible that a foreign-owned, non-American company can come in and, because of their global plan, flout and break the Illinois law,” said Mautino.
He also said legal action could be in the works but didn’t offer any specifics.
Illinois Liquor Control Commission Chairman Steve Schnorf Email:
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Letter From Lawmakers To Governor & Commission Chief Legal Counsel:
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