economic liberty Archives - Liberty Justice Center

Liberty Justice Center & VUGO, Inc. ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear case arguing for commercial advertising in Uber, Lyft and other rideshare vehicles

(Jan. 7, 2020) The Liberty Justice Center, the public interest law firm behind the 2018 Supreme Court victory in Janus v. AFSCME, has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that challenges bans on advertising in Uber, Lyft and other rideshare vehicles.

Chicago Overstepping with Streaming Tax, Users Tell Ill. Court – Law 360

(Sept. 19, 2019) The city of Chicago’s amusement tax on streaming services like Netflix is an unconstitutional overreach of its authority, a state appellate panel heard Thursday in a first-of-its-kind test of a city's streaming tax.

Chicago Alderman Wants “Robot Tax” – Illinois Policy Institute

(Feb. 14, 2019) As Amazon considers pulling its HQ2 out of New York City, Chicago is considering imposing a “robot tax” on companies looking to automate their way around high labor costs.

Victory for free speech and economic liberty, Chicago passes ordinance allowing commercial advertising in rideshare vehicles

(Dec. 11, 2018) In a victory for free speech and economic liberty, the City of Chicago passed an amendment to allow commercial advertising in and on rideshare vehicles as part of its 2019 Revenue Ordinance.

Chicago Made Their Business Illegal, Now Vugo is Fighting Back – Illinois Policy Institute

by Austin Berg Feb. 7, 2017 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel brands his city as “the digital mecca of the Midwest.” But what happens when politicians tilt the playing field toward entrenched interests? Enter Vugo, a promising Midwest tech startup now suing the city for banning its business. Starting up...

Chicago Sued for Prohibiting Ads in Uber, Lyft Cars – CBS

Feb. 2, 2017 CHICAGO (CBS) — The City of Chicago is being sued for prohibiting advertising in ridesharing vehicles, such as those from Uber or Lyft. WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of Vugo, a company that wants to put...

City Sued for Banning Ads in Ride-Share Vehicles – The Chicago Tribune

Feb. 2, 2017 A Minneapolis technology company has sued the city of Chicago for banning advertising inside the private cars used by Uber, Lyft and other ride-share company drivers. Vugo, founded in 2015 and looking to expand its digital advertising business to ride-sharing vehicles here, filed a federal lawsuit...

Chicago’s Home-Sharing Ordinance is an Unwelcome Guest – The Chicago Tribune

by Jacob Huebert and Christina Sandefur Nov. 29, 2016 When the Cubs won the World Series in early November, the city was euphoric. And in the days leading up to the win, Wrigleyville was buzzing with excited fans — from Chicago and around the world. During that...

Chicago’s Airbnb Home-Sharing Rules are ‘Draconian,’ Lawsuit Says – The Chicago Tribune

Nov. 16, 2016 A group of homeowners is suing the city of Chicago, alleging the city’s new “draconian and unintelligible restrictions” on Airbnb and other home-sharing platforms are unconstitutional and punish responsible homeowners. This is the second lawsuit filed this month that takes aim at the city’s...

Lawsuit Blasts New Airbnb Regulations – Fox News

Nov. 15, 2016 FOX 32 NEWS – A lawsuit has been filed to stop a new ordinance that would put stricter regulations on people who share their homes through sites like Airbnb. The ordinance is set to take effect in just a few weeks, but this...

Evanston Opens Door to Outside Food Trucks – The Chicago Tribune

June 16, 2016 Food trucks from outside of Evanston can now peddle their gourmet sandwiches, pastries, coffee and other foods within the city’s borders, thanks to an ordinance change approved by the Evanston City Council on Monday, lifting a restriction that had been place since 2010. Evanston...

Lawsuit Filed to Block Chicago’s ‘Cloud Tax’ – Fox News

City Hall estimates the 9 percent tax will yield about $5 million

Inside the Legal Challenge to Chicago’s 9 Percent Netflix Tax – Motherboard Vice

The city became the first to try to create a new revenue stream from streamers

Netflix and Amazon Users Sue to Stop Chicago’s 9% Streaming Tax – Fortune

Local governments are taxing popular cloud services to make up for lost sales tax revenue

City of Chicago Sued for ‘Trying to Sneak in’ a Nine Per Cent ‘Netflix Tax’ on Streaming Websites including Spotify and Amazon Prime – Daily Mail

A lawsuit filed against the Illinois city claims it had no legal right to bring in the levy which could lead to higher bills for residents

City of Chicago Sued Over ‘Netflix Tax’ – Fox News

Chicago’s ‘amusement tax’ puts a fee on streaming services like Netflix, Spotify Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com http://video.foxnews.com/v/4480344454001/?#sp=show-clips

Chicago’s Tax of Netflix, Spotify Subscriptions Challenged in Court – Hollywood Reporter

Labell v. City of Chicago challenges Chicago’s tax on subscriptions to streaming services, such as Netflix and Spotify. The Liberty Justice Center represents Chicago taxpayers who subscribe to these streaming services and are forced to pay the tax. The excerpt below is from an article...

Downers Grove Man Sues Over New Village Ban on Painted Wall Signs – Chicago Tribune

In Leibundguth Storage & Van Service v. Village of Downers Grove, the Liberty Justice Center represented Leibundguth Storage & Van Service to protect their First Amendment right to free speech in advertising the business and strike down the sign-ordinance regulations. The excerpt below is from...

Press release: Lawsuit filed against state agency for awarding millions in excessive business tax credits

CHICAGO (Jan. 9, 2015) – Like many other states, Illinois regularly awards tax credits to attract and keep businesses and jobs in the state. Illinois has a law that allows tax credits for companies that create new jobs. However, for more than a decade the...

Businessman Sues Downers Grove to Keep Signs Painted on His Building – The Chicago Tribune

City to Change Party Bus, Taxi Regulations after Judge’s Ruling – Pantagraph

In Julie Crowe v. City of Bloomington, the Liberty Justice Center represented Julie Crowe who was denied a license to start a vehicle-for-hire business based on a local law that allowed city officials to keep competitors out of the market to protect established businesses. The...

City’s Rules for Licensing Vehicles-for-Hire Ruled Unconstitutional – Pantagraph

Doughnuts Fight City Hall – in Evanston – Grub Street

Beaver Donuts v. City of Evanston challenged city code that prohibited all food trucks in Evanston, except those operated by owners of existing brick-and-mortar establishments. The Liberty Justice Center challenged the city code on the grounds that it did not protect health, safety or welfare,...