Looking on the bright side
Wednesday, Sep 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Springfield city council last night…
* Half will go to pensions…
The other half with go toward community development on the city’s east side.
Aldermen also approved a resolution for a public hearing to designate where recreational marijuana can be smoked in the city limits.
I’m hearing some interesting ideas for social use in Springfield. Stay tuned.
* News-Gazette…
Champaign City Council members, unanimously signaling their support for a 3 percent tax on recreational cannabis, took the first steps Tuesday toward regulating its use and sales ahead of legalization Jan. 1. […]
“This is something people have been doing for a long time anyway,” [council member Matt Gladney] said. “It’s just that now it’s being legalized.”
He said that much like alcohol and cigarettes, cannabis “is a vice that people should be able to consume within certain parameters,” and thought perhaps the state is “overthinking it,” with the opinion that restrictions will likely be loosened in coming years.
Gladney finds that disallowing public consumption is “particularly ridiculous.”
* Aurora is gearing up…
[Martin Lyons, Aurora’s chief financial officer] said Aurora wants a competitive sales tax rate to attract “quality” dispensaries.
“We want someone that’s going to provide a great operation that is operated in a safe and responsible manner,” he said.
A lower sales tax rate also would give a dispensary owner “a chance to put dollars into the operation.”
If Aurora allows recreational marijuana sales, it’s estimated the city could collect $200,000 to $600,000 a year in additional tax revenue, officials said.
* East Peoria…
Beginning Jan. 1, it will be legal with a state-issued license for a business to sell recreational marijuana in East Peoria. […]
“I have a personal opinion and I have a job as mayor,” [Mayor John Kahl] said. “Whether we accept this or not, marijuana is going to be here and we have to deal with that.”
One way to deal with it, is to tax it. Commissioner Seth Mingus likened the legalization of marijuana to the legalization of gambling that brought a casino to East Peoria 25 years ago.
“No matter what we decide, we can’t stop it,” Mingus said. “People have urged us to vote no and I respect that. East Peoria has always been open to alternative means of revenue and in the past there were concerns the (gambling) boat would bring crime and the concerns with pot are the same. $100 million (in tax revenue) later we have not had to raise our property tax rate because we have the boat.”
* I read four local news stories on the Danville City Council’s vote last night to approve the sale of adult-use cannabis, but only one of those four stories had what could be considered a positive quote. The rest were either jammed with reefer madness quotes or didn’t have any at all…
[Ald. Bob Iverson] said cannabis is “already here and it’s going to be everywhere.” He feels the city should try to control it and get something good out of it.
* Related…
* Getting marijuana convictions expunged in Illinois: What you need to know about the process
* Convicted Of A Weed Crime? Expungement Clinic Aims To Help People Clear Their Records In West Loop This Weekend
* Peru OKs zoning to allow pot dispensary
* Niles plan commission recommends creating districts for recreational marijuana sales
* Rock Island County cashing in on cannabis: “Any non property tax based revenue opportunity for the county is, is a good one,” said Rock Island County Board Chairperson Richard Brunk.
* Buffalo Grove Establishes New Tax For Possible Recreational Marijuana: A medical cannabis dispensary is currently located at 1623 Barclay Blvd. in Buffalo Grove. Village staff conservatively estimates the village could generate $300,000-$400,000 annually from the sale of recreational marijuana, in addition to the 1% home rule sales tax.
* Want to Solve the Vape Crisis? End Marijuana Prohibition: The reason these illnesses are coming from THC vapes and not nicotine is precisely because the latter is legal while the former is not.
* Grassroots ‘Preparing Very Quickly’ for Illinois Cannabis Legalization, Says COO: “As is commonplace in the cannabis industry, the implementation of these adult-use laws oftentimes are not without hurdles. So I think [in] Illinois there’ll be some of those as well, but I think we’re all preparing very quickly to get ready to be open for January 1st.”
* Anna city leaders consider allowing recreational marijuana sales
* Machesney Park passes 3% marijuana sales tax
* Evanston officials exploring regulation options as legal recreational marijuana sales near
- Fixer - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:12 pm:
Maybe someone with a better grasp of municipal thinking can help me out here: why does 3% seem to be the amount most cities are settling in on as the tax rate for this?
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:15 pm:
===why does 3%===
That’s the max allowed.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:21 pm:
The East Peoria mayor sounds like a grown up.
He may not personally like it,but he realizes that getting a piece of revenue from it is better than no revenue from it.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:24 pm:
Fantastic news about Springfield, and unanimous too. Congrats also to the other local governments who opted in. Looking forward to news on social use.
The key, as the Danville alderperson said, is that marijuana is already here. Time for the state and local governments capitalize on it rather than have 100% of recreational sales continue to go to the lawless black market.
- "Social Use" - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:30 pm:
you mean like Springfield City Park Hookahs?
- BogeyGolfer - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:45 pm:
Darien voted to NOT ban the sale of cannibus last night. They will follow-up with amending their business and zoning ordinances for any limitations.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:49 pm:
The local tax dollars generated is a big addition insofar as its a totally new revenue stream and jumping on that shows that electeds are willing to embrace this because the monies will help, period.
Seems “simple” enough, but the change of thought to take on this as a means, it’s forward thinking while solving past problems, today.
Towns unwilling to jump into this will be left behind and play catch-up to the monies lost with the initial rollout and boon.
- City Zen - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:52 pm:
“likened the legalization of marijuana to the legalization of gambling that brought a casino to East Peoria 25 years ago.”
1) Never knew the casino was in East Peoria
2) Never knew there was an East Peoria
3) I’ve been to that casino
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 2:54 pm:
===Springfield City Park Hookahs? ===
No. Privately owned spaces.
- Dotnonymous - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 3:46 pm:
I’ve been going to local parks to bird watch while enjoying marijuana…and life…for decades.
I pay taxes in order to keep the parks operating.
I’m a lone outlaw?
- Monstars - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 3:47 pm:
==I’m hearing some interesting ideas for social use in Springfield. Stay tuned.===
If it doesn’t involve head West, then what are they even doing?
- SSL - Wednesday, Sep 18, 19 @ 5:28 pm:
“I don’t want it near schools. I don’t want it sold to children.”
A sound guiding principle.
- Harvest76 - Thursday, Sep 19, 19 @ 6:50 am:
Chatham is on the verge of banning sales. The arguments are the same tired tropes one would expect. Family values (apparently they believe families everywhere else dont have comparable values), dont want it is schools (as if), gateway drug (hey, 1980 called…), etc. They argue they can lift the ban later. I would argue someone will put a dispensary in Piper Glen shopping center at the edge of town, but technically in Springfield, and Chatham will never have the tax revenue. Fools.