The Illinois Supreme Court has reversed a lower court’s decision and held that Chicago’s taxation of car rentals outside city limits under the personal property lease transaction tax ordinance (Ruling 11) violates the home rule article of the Illinois Constitution because it has an extraterritorial effect and is therefore an improper exercise of the City’s home rule powers. The court held that Ruling 11 exceeds the scope of the City’s home rule authority. The court ruled that Home Rule units such as Chicago may not extend their taxing powers beyond the home rule unit’s borders absent express legislative authority. Chicago attempted to impose a tax collection requirement on rental companies located within 3 miles of the city limits if the lessee had a Chicago driver’s license. For our previous news item on this case, click here. (The Hertz Corp. v. The City of Chicago, Illinois Supreme Court, No. 119945, 119960, January 20, 2017)