* WBEZ…

There are some proposals dealing with cannabis issues that could theoretically still pass within a couple months, and though that’s unlikely, at least one lawmaker is still hopeful.

A bill (HB3415) sponsored by state Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, would create a Cannabis Control Commission with seven governor-appointed members and an executive director. It would assume the functions of various state agencies that handle specific components of cannabis regulation.

Right now, a person may have to go to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to seek a dispensary license. But if they want a license for a 5,000- to 14,000-square-foot craft grow facility or 210,000-square-foot cultivation center? That’s the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Revenue handles cannabis income. […]

Akele Parnell, CEO of Umi Farms and also a board member of Chicago NORML, said a single commission would make sense.

“It would 100% help the licensees, and I think the consumers,” Parnell said of Evans’s bill. “There’s a one-stop shop for guidance on how to operate, guidance on what the product should look like, guidance on, you know, recalls and consumer complaints and just general information, as opposed to several different … government agencies with different processes and different approaches.”

Other related bills floating around focus on cannabis delivery to homes and businesses, rules for delivery license applicants and issue 200 conditional licenses to those who want their own cannabis delivery business.

* The Tribune…

Illinois has issued its first two social equity marijuana dispensary licenses, and at least one of them is expected to open by next week in Chicago’s River North area.

Green Rose Dispensary is soon to open on the site of the old Carson’s Ribs restaurant at Ontario and Wells streets, one of the most prominent locations in the city. The state also issued a license to open to Ivy Hall, a boutique dispensary in Wicker Park, but it has not announced when it will open. […]

The wealthy and connected owners of Green Rose — GRI Holdings, Inc., — also include restaurateur Phil Stefani and former CTA executive John Trotta. Consultants on the project were Ross Morreale, co-founder of downstate Ataraxia cultivation center, and Jay Steward, former head of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which controls marijuana licensing for the state.

GRI qualified for the state’s social equity designation, which comes with bonus points for license applications, by hiring at least six employees who qualify for social equity by coming from neighborhoods with high rates of poverty or marijuana arrests, or who had prior minor cannabis convictions.

* Sun-Times…

With a deadline to open their doors this spring, minority marijuana business entrepreneurs will have an $8.75 million pool of state-backed loans, state officials announced Thursday.

The state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will release the funds to more than 30 businesses with “social equity” licenses to grow, sell, process or transport cannabis and related products, with firms eligible for up to $500,000 at zero interest for 18 months. […]

The 35 businesses that were awaiting word on their applications for loans under a previous loan program — which offered below-market interest rates from banks — will be eligible for the Cannabis Social Equity Loan program. Loan funds used for a range of key expenses, such as rent, payroll, utility bills and other costs won’t have to be repaid, said Emily Bolton, spokeswoman for the commerce department.

The announcement comes less than a week after Vargas and other would-be minority pot entrepreneurs told the audience at a City Club luncheon that as many as eight out of 10 social equity license holders would probably miss a March deadline to have their businesses up and running. Entrepreneurs who haven’t secured all necessary permits, found a permanent location, ordered inventory and purchased equipment and other signs of viability by March risk losing their license. The costs of starting a craft growing operation can top $2 million, Vargas said.

* More…

* Crain’s | Vegas weed company picks Waukegan over Chicago for its pot shop: “We looked everywhere in the region. We were kicking a lot of tires in the city, downtown and elsewhere,” said Bob Groesbeck, co-CEO of Planet 13. “Waukegan checked the boxes: proximity to an area that’s not oversaturated, the ability to drive some traffic down from Wisconsin. There’s very supportive local government and not a lot competition because a lot of communities in the area opted out” of recreational cannabis.

* St. Louis Business Journal | Missouri’s expanded cannabis market could negatively affect Illinois, experts say: After Tuesday’s election, both Missouri and Illinois could soon have legalized recreational marijuana markets. The difference? Tax rates. “My gut reaction is that it won’t be a positive for Illinois.”

* Marijuana Moment | Local Illinois Lawmaker Pushes For Psychedelics Decriminalization With New Bill: Councilmember Devon Reid’s proposal would make possessing, cultivating and delivering entheogenic substances like psilocybin punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time. That fine could be waived for people who complete a drug treatment program or “reasonable public service work.”

* MI Biz | ‘Unprecedented’ $10M cannabis hospitality project planned in Muskegon: A group of Michigan and Chicago-based entrepreneurs are developing a one-stop cannabis destination in Muskegon that would include a growing and processing facility, dispensary, consumption lounge, outdoor venue, restaurant and bar.