 The state high court is scheduled to announce its decision Monday on
an appellate court ruling that said the law that helps fund the
building program by raising taxes on liquor and candy and allowing
video gambling was unconstitutional. The lower court said the law
ran afoul because it covered more than one subject."My father
told me a long time ago, 'Don't take an aspirin 'til you get a
headache,' and I hope we don't have that headache. I hope the court
upholds the law, and we'll see what they say," Quinn said.
At stake is a program that Quinn has touted as an economic driver
that is putting people to work repairing roads and bridges and doing
other infrastructure projects. It was a long-awaited and
much-anticipated program that earned bipartisan support from
lawmakers anxious to ignite Illinois' economy with a steady stream
of construction jobs.
The dispute started when Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, a
liquor distributor, filed a lawsuit against Quinn and other state
officials over the law just before it took effect in September 2009.
The law took effect while the suit proceeded.
The appellate court ruled that some of the things the law did had
nothing to do with state revenue.
[Associated Press]
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