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that were assigned to his former distributor. Nevertheless, Bell stated at the time that he expected "to be sued by his former distributor, National Wine & Spirits." Initially, only the Royal Amber Ale was made available, in draft only, at about a dozen
Chicago-area locations. In August 2008, Bell's returned its primary brands to the Chicago area after National Wine & Spirits' exit from Illinois, upon the sale of their Illinois distributorship to Wirtz Beverage Group.
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market in 2007 via two new distributors by creating two new beer brands, Kalamazoo Royal Amber Ale and
Kalamazoo Hopsoulution. Since each beer avoided the use of the "Bell's" name and logo, and used a different recipe from previous Bell's brands, Larry Bell contended that these are not the same beers
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from changing distributors without "just cause". Distributors stated that the law was required to prevent producers from severing ties with
Illinois distributors and "outsourcing" their deals, ostensibly resulting in thousands of job losses throughout the state. After the law was passed, all Illinois
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Officially known as the Wine and
Spirits Fair Dealing Act, it prevented wineries and distillers from leaving their distributors without just cause.
78:. This was upheld on appeal. Finally, in 2002 the unpopular Wirtz Law was struck down. The law and its history went on to become a case study for
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Shortly after passage, a group of out-of-state wineries filed lawsuits in federal court against their
Illinois distributors and the
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An earlier, similar law, the Beer
Industry Fair Dealing Act (which dated to 1982), resulted in a popular
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The unofficial "Wirtz Law" name comes from the fact that the law was passed after
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Loerzel, Robert (November 19, 2007). "Bell's beer is coming back to
Chicago".
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292:"Bell's Brouhaha: Beloved brewer returns to Chicago with a new beer".
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Hughlett, Mike (August 1, 2008). "Bell's brings beer back to area".
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63:; editorials at the time decried the law as a "corrupt document".
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Kendall-Jackson Winery, et al. v. Leonard L. Branson, et al.
159:"Letter to Dan Cronin, State Senator, 39th District"
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44:actively lobbied against the law, to no avail.
203:"Federal Judge Puts Wirtz Liquor Law on Hold"
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253:"U.S. judge overturns Wirtz law on liquor"
441:Political corruption in the United States
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309:"Interview: Larry Bell, Bell's Brewery"
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40:distributors raised their prices. The
406:Campaign finance in the United States
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180:Winery v. Leonard L. Branson, et al.
307:Klockars, Karl (December 4, 2007).
126:Day, Nicholas (December 14, 2006).
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251:Holt, Douglas (February 1, 2002).
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68:Illinois Liquor Control Commission
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201:Holt, Douglas (January 4, 2000).
21:Wine and Spirits Fair Dealing Act
411:Alcohol law in the United States
163:Federal Trade Commission website
157:Baker, Steven (March 31, 1999).
355:"The Wirtz Liquor Empire Grows"
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353:Sudo, Chuck (March 28, 2008).
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446:Political history of Illinois
391:United States competition law
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421:1999 in American politics
279:Crain's Chicago Business
185:82 F.Supp.2d 844
42:Federal Trade Commission
294:The Wall Street Journal
80:campaign finance reform
55:and other distributors
16:1999 Illinois state law
401:Election campaign law
416:1999 in American law
319:on December 14, 2007
296:. December 15, 2007.
235:212 F.3d 995
23:, also known as the
396:Economy of Illinois
365:on November 7, 2017
436:History of Chicago
59:over $ 700,000 to
27:, was an infamous
426:Illinois statutes
241: 2000-05-12).
191: 2000-01-03).
76:U.S. Constitution
49:Wirtz Corporation
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431:1999 in Illinois
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367:. Retrieved
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321:. Retrieved
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385:Categories
359:Chicagoist
102:References
53:Bill Wirtz
33:distillers
189:N.D. Ill.
25:Wirtz Law
262:June 10,
239:7th Cir.
214:June 10,
87:Michigan
37:wineries
29:Illinois
369:July 2,
95:Chicago
74:of the
237: (
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187: (
183:,
51:owner
371:2018
325:2007
264:2021
216:2021
139:2009
35:and
19:The
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