Certainly, the folks who run the Illinois Chamber of Commerce must know you can't fight City Hall.

Nevertheless, the chamber has taken an audacious action that ought to warm the hearts of those who believe state and local governments were put on this earth for the purpose of sucking the life blood out of small businesses with their insatiable appetite for new fees and higher taxes.

Late last month, the chamber filed suit against Illinois government, claiming the state is unconstitutionally collecting excessive fees from businesses to make up for revenue shortfalls.

The suit, born of a lot of frustration, alleges the state has essentially created hundreds of excessive business fees as a substitute for general tax increases.

The suit also contends these fees bear little or no relationship to the systems and services the state is supposed to be administering through them. In so doing, says the chamber, the state is using the business community to gather hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for general purposes.

The chamber believes if its suit is successful it will help define the boundaries surrounding fees and taxes, and establish new guidelines governing the manner by which Illinois uses them to fund state government.

According to the chamber, Illinois raised taxes on businesses by $555 million last year. At the same time, the state raised the level of more than 300 different licenses, permits and fees required of employers in an effort to generate another $340 million.

One of last year's business tax increases hit Illinois motorcoach operators particularly hard. The state eliminated its rolling stock exemption.

In fiscal 2005, Illinois plans to hit businesses with another $400 million in new taxes and $57 million in new fees.

One prime example of the excessive fees cited by the chamber in its lawsuit is a surcharge collected by the Illinois Industrial Commission. The surcharge rakes in $31 million annually but the commission's total yearly spending is $14 million.

The suit specifically alleges that the fees and taxes violate the uniformity clause in the Illinois Constitution and the due process clauses of the U.S. and Illinois constitutions.

As might be expected, a spokeswoman for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich attempted to throw cold water on the chamber suit. She said Illinois' fees for businesses are not out of line and, in fact, are lower than most other states. She also said the business fee issue has been litigated before without success.

She's probably right on both counts. But the chamber certainly has made its point.