235 ILCS 5/6-9.10

(235 ILCS 5/6-9.10)

Sec. 6-9.10. Cooperative purchasing agreements.

(a) A cooperative purchasing agreement shall only be valid if the following conditions are met:

(1) the agreement is in writing and signed by all parties to the agreement;

(2) the agreement contains the complete license information for all parties to the agreement, including State and local license numbers and expiration dates as well as the date on which the retail member joined the cooperative purchase group;

(3) a retail licensee that is a party to the agreement must not be a party to any other related cooperative purchasing agreement;

(4) the agreement identifies and designates the name and address of the agent or agents with the authority to contract for the purchase and delivery of wine or spirits on behalf of the cooperative purchase group;

(5) a copy of the executed agreement, including any amendments, deletions, or additions, is kept on the premises of each party to the agreement for a period of 3 years;

(6) a copy of the executed agreement, including any amendments, deletions, or additions, is delivered to the relevant licensee with distribution privileges and to the State Commission before making any purchases under the agreement; any amendments, deletions, or additions must be submitted to the State Commission within 7 business days after the amendment, deletion, or addition is executed; and

(7) the agreement must designate whether the cooperative purchasing group is comprised of retail licenses engaged in the sale of wine or spirits on or off the premises.

(b) A retail licensee may, pursuant to a cooperative purchasing agreement, make purchases as a member of a cooperative purchase group or independently of any such group. Nothing in this Section or any other Section of this Act shall be construed to prohibit commonly or not commonly owned retail licensees from making purchases separate and apart from any membership in a cooperative purchase group.

(c) A retailer may only be a member of one cooperative purchase group at a time. A retail licensee may change to a different cooperative purchase group no more than twice in a 12-month period. However, if an existing cooperative purchase group member purchases a retail location from a member of another cooperative purchase group, the new owner of the retail location may move the membership of the retail licensee to a different cooperative purchasing group.

(d) When a retail licensee joins an existing cooperative purchasing group, the new member must be a member for a period of 7 days before being able to participate in any quantity discount programs.

(e) Cooperative purchasing group members must be either all on-premises retail licensees or all off-premises retail licensees.

(f) Any individual retail licensee that is a member of a cooperative purchase group that fails to comply with the terms and conditions of this Section may be deemed to be in violation of Section 6-5. Any distributor or importing distributor that fails to comply with this Section may be deemed to be in violation of Section 6-5.

(g) The State Commission shall keep a list of the members of each cooperative purchase group and shall make that list available on its website.

(h) A retail licensee that is a member of a cooperative purchase group shall not have an ownership interest, directly or indirectly, in any entity licensed by this Act other than a retailer.

(i) It is unlawful for a distributor or importing distributor to furnish, give, or lend money or anything of value to a cooperative agent.

(j) It is the duty of each retail licensee of the cooperative purchase group to make books and records available upon reasonable notice for the purpose of investigation and control by the State Commission or any local liquor control commission having jurisdiction over the retail licensee of the cooperative purchase group.

(k) A cooperative agent shall not have an ownership interest, directly or indirectly, in an entity licensed under any other license category under this Act.

(l) A retailer, manufacturer, importing distributor, distributor, or cooperative agent shall remain in compliance with federal law pursuant to the prohibitions and exceptions provided in 27 CFR Part 6 and any promulgated rules thereof. A cooperative agent that is compliant with Sections 6-5 and 6-6 shall not receive cash or anything of value from both the retail licensee and an importing distributor or distributor, non-resident dealer or manufacturers as part of a cooperative purchasing group agreement.

(Source: P.A. 102-442, eff. 8-20-21.)