Board Policy
State Imposed Fee Increases
December 12, 2003
The Illinois Chamber is of the opinion that fee based revenues should have a direct relationship to a designated governmental function, service or purpose. The Illinois Chamber objects to excessive and arbitrary increases in state government imposed fees in order to generate revenue for general purpose government expenses.
In response to new law adopted by the state of Illinois in 2003 the Board of Directors of the Illinois Chamber instructs legal counsel to prepare the necessary complaint to challenge the constitutionality of the aforementioned law in order to achieve judicial guidance to determine if there is a lawful difference between a fee and a tax that the state has violated.
The Illinois Chamber’s complaint shall be prepared initially to challenge the legality of the workers compensation surcharge.
The Board of Directors of the Illinois Chamber further instructs the chamber staff and legal counsel to work together to identify other fee increases that may best represent excessive and inappropriate actions on the part of state government. The chamber staff is instructed to pursue additional plaintiffs who may wish to join the Illinois Chamber’s complaint on behalf of similarly aggrieved parties who have specific standing in court on behalf of fees that do not apply to the Illinois Chamber.
The Board of Directors delegates oversight of this activity to the Executive Committee and instructs the Executive Committee to make a recommendation for authorization to the Board of Directors prior to filing a petition in Illinois Circuit Court.
The chamber staff is instructed to communicate the board’s action to the membership, seek additional input from the members, pursue additional plaintiffs from among the membership of state and local chambers of commerce and prepare a response for any inquiries that may come from the media.
Adopted by the Board of Directors
December 12, 2003
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