Who Will Be Crowned Illinois' King of Beers?

Anheuser-Busch has reportedly hired more than a dozen Statehouse lobbyists this spring to protect its interests in a long-running battle to control how it distributes its brews in Illinois.

The St. Louis-based company has, in the past, owned a beer distributorship in Illinois. It sought to buy another one in Chicago but was blocked by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. So the company sued in federal court.

In the process, Anheuser-Busch discovered that two relatively small Illinois "craft brewers" were allowed to distribute their own beer in Illinois, but out-of-state craft brewers weren't given the same privilege. The brewer's suit tried to use that contradiction to its advantage.