Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined legislators and community members at Sway Dispensary to celebrate the passage of SB 3222, landmark legislation that prohibits the sale of intoxicating hemp to minors and advances safety, equity, and oversight in the cannabis industry.
Signed into law last month, SB 3222 provides commonsense regulations around intoxicating hemp products — including Delta-8, THC-P, and HHC — that had previously been sold outside Illinois’ regulated adult-use cannabis market. Many of these products have been marketed in packaging that appeals to children or misleadingly labels their contents. The new law establishes stronger safeguards to keep these products out of the hands of minors. […]
Now in effect, the State of Illinois prohibits the sale of intoxicating hemp products to people under the age of 21. Beginning in November 2026, intoxicating hemp products will be subject to regulations set forth in the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA), including:
- Requiring child-proof packaging;
- Banning misleading marketing and packaging that rips off consumer brands to appeal to children; and
- Ensuring the existing cannabis regulatory framework applies to intoxicating hemp products […]
In addition to instituting new safety measures for intoxicating hemp, this legislation makes the existing market more accessible to medical cannabis patients; equitable across a growing, diverse industry; and efficient in regulatory and oversight processes.
Key provisions include:
- Eliminating barriers for medical cannabis patients – including allowing all Illinois dispensaries to register as medical cannabis dispensaries; implementing curbside and drive-thru pick up methods; and expanding qualifying conditions, which can now be certified over telehealth
- Advancing social equity by introducing income-based hardship waivers, allowing more time to reach operational status, and reducing costs for businesses
- Improves efficiency in regulatory and oversight by optimizing how state agencies can share information, unify badging systems, administer financial assistance programs, and synchronize taxes across the industry
* From Medical Cannabis Advisory Board vice chair Jim Champion’s remarks during the press conference…
I’m excited to be here today to celebrate this legislation. My wife, Sandy, and I have worked in Illinois medical cannabis for over 18 years, helping craft and pass the original medical cannabis law, and I can tell you that this is the most meaningful reform to our medical cannabis program since it was actually signed into law almost 13 years ago. […] This law also includes allows drive-through and curbside pick up until 2 am for all customers; permits physicians to certify through telehealth and it also adds the medical conditions that were approved by the medical cannabis advisory board. As a board member I have to say I’m especially pleased to see this. This is something we never saw happen under the previous administration, and it’s rewarding to know that the board’s hard work is being acknowledged and recognized. […]
We still have work to do, like we would like to create a delivery service, especially for patients who cannot travel to dispensaries. We’d like to increase the amounts of cannabis patients can purchase without requiring a doctor’s approval and without forcing them to pay adult use prices, and many more. But today we celebrate.
News footage #1 VO (featuring b-roll of Rod Blagojevich): As the former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was convicted of attempted extortion, bribery, conspiracy and fraud.
News footage #2 VO (featuring b-roll of Rod Blagojevich): The most striking charge was that Blagojevich tried to enrich himself by selling or swapping President Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat.
News footage #2 VO: Garcia is Congressman García’s handpicked successor.
NBC reporter: García originally filed petitions to run for reelection and then at the last minute told only his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, he was not going to run.
WGN reporter: Casual political observers have not even heard of her. She is the woman Congressman Chuy García has anointed his successor.
NBC reporter: Handpicking your successor is wrong.
Rod Blagojevich: I mean I’ve got this thing and it’s [bleep]ing golden.
Closing text: Same machine, new operator. Help Byron protect fair elections & get on the ballot. Donate today.
* Click here for some background. Governor JB Pritzker was asked about Speaker Welch’s call for Rep. Harry Benton to resign during an an unrelated press conference…
Reporter: Governor, given the fact that Speaker Welch called on Rep. Harry Benton to resign, do you believe that Benton should resign. And has the process that has taken five months ago taken too long?
Pritzker: It has taken too long. But let me begin by saying that in Illinois we demand a very high standard for people who serve in public office. I think the public demands that. Certainly those of us who are living by that standard demand it of everybody else. And so when the Speaker of the House has received a report from the Legislative Inspector General, and that report has led him to call for the resignation of a member or the possible expulsion of a member. I think we should all take that very seriously, and certainly Representative Benton ought to take that very seriously. I do.
Reporter: Governor, have you seen the LIG’s report into the Benton investigation?
Pritzker: I have not. I have not, but I take the speaker at his word he wouldn’t call for the resignation unless there was something or some things in that report that are very, very serious.
* Gov. Pritzker was later asked whether the Legislative Inspector General’s report should be made public…
Reporter: Given the fact that five years ago, Me Too problem in the Speaker’s office led to change. There might some concerned that there might not enough transparency in what actually happened in this case. Should this report made public? […]
Pritzker: Yes, more transparency is always better in government. Here’s the challenge, when people make allegations, and in politics there are people who make false allegations against elected officials. They need to be investigated before they’re just sort of put out there under official banner. And so I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t know all the details. I would like to know all the details. Meanwhile, the legislature has put together a process and procedure for going through those with an independent Legislative Inspector General who’s doing the job of investigating, and I think that’s that’s a process that obviously, when the Speaker is calling for someone’s resignation or the possibility of expulsion, that process seems to be working. Even if we all think that it could happen faster. It happened, and I would hope that justice would be done here. And I have to say, the Speaker doesn’t call for people’s resignation very often, and when he does and has the details in front of him, I trust that he is doing the right thing.
* Gov. Pritzker was also asked how Illinois is preparing for the legal fight after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to Cook County’s assault weapons ban…
Reporter: The Supreme Court is saying that they will take up the Cook County assault weapons ban. What are you doing to potentially prepare for the statewide ban to also be overturned?…
Pritzker: Yes, I think that they will be attacking all of the assault weapons bans with this case that they’re taking up. What we’re engaging in is assisting the Attorney General in getting outside advisers and counsel for the case before the Supreme Court, and making sure that we have all of our ducks in a row to protect the rights of the people of this state that are protected by the assault weapons ban, that is what we’re doing. The rights of people to go to a Fourth of July parade and be safe and not have 48 people shot with more than 60 bullets per second issued by a weapon that shouldn’t be available to the public. So I’m pleased that we will have the opportunity to defend that law. This is a Supreme Court that I know starts out not believing in protecting those that right to be free from violence. But I’m hopeful that they will hear the arguments and they will decide the right way.
Reporter: What do you expect that outside help to be able do…
Pritzker: I just want to be clear, the Attorney General is going to lead the effort on our behalf, and of course, the Cook County State’s Attorney, of course, will be involved in that endeavor. But we want to make sure we’ve got the best experts in the country that are helping. We’ve got some of them here in Illinois helping to defend the law, because it’s the right thing. We have banned assault weapons across the state of Illinois for a reason, and our families ought to live in peace, and we don’t need those kinds of weapons. We can stand for the Second Amendment and allow people to have weapons to defend themselves. They don’t need a weapon that can fire that many bullets in a single second.
Reporter: First of all, are there any updates on the Bears? Have you talked to the Bears organization since the last two weeks? You were talking about this idea of legislation being blended between the House and Senate. That’s number one. The second question is about Hawthorne Racetrack, as you know, they are in bankruptcy proceedings right now, and there is a stalking horse bidder that’s being considered who would basically get rid of the race track, and that the real estate would be sold. As governor, I know that the Hawthorn issue has been discussed in the legislature before about giving it more money. As governor what would you like to see with that land at Hawthorne Racetrack?
Pritzker: These are private companies making private decisions about their future. I think in bankruptcy, companies that own a piece of property don’t have a lot of choices about who they’d like to sell to. I don’t have an opinion about the buyer, the stalking horse bidder, or any other bidder that may come forward about that property, so I don’t have anything to add to that. I mean, I am a supporter of our horse racing industry in the state. I was very saddened a number of years ago when the Arlington race course was closed, that was a mainstay of the horse racing industry in Illinois. But as you know, around the country horse racing broadly has been in decline, other than the Kentucky Derby, of course, which everyone I think pays attention to. But even that business that owns the Kentucky Derby has diversified into other gaming and so on, because of the challenges of the horse racing industry. So I don’t have a lot to add to that, but I believe in the horse racing industry. […] But I’m sorry, you had another question?
Reporter: Has there been any movement in the last two weeks. Have you talked to the Bears at all?
Pritzker: I know every time I stand in front of the press, you all want me to give some new feature of it. I can say conversations continue, they make calls to people, there’s a whole lot that they are interested in, and there isn’t anything new to add to what I’ve said in the past. I mean, as soon as they are able to put something together and there are discussions enough with the legislators, I’m sure that we’ll be able to come forward and give you some news. But until then, nothing to add.
Thursday, Jul 2, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department
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For the first time since President Trump controversially deployed the National Guard to the nation’s capital last year, several Democratic governors have sent members of their respective guards to the city.
Kentucky and North Carolina began the trend in recent weeks, each sending just a single guard member as D.C. readied for America 250 celebrations. Michigan then sent more than 100 last week, and Minnesota followed suit with 107 earlier this week, according to numbers made public by the D.C. Joint Task Force, which is coordinating Trump’s deployment in the city. […]
But these are the first troops sent from states led by Democrats, leading many legal experts who have been watching Trump’s deployment in D.C. to wonder whether those guard members will participate in the routine – and controversial – neighborhood patrols and overall militarized feeling of the nation’s capital that has become a trademark of this administration. Democrats have largely opposed the president’s deployment to the city. […]
When contacted by NPR, spokespeople for each respective governor’s office made it clear that their guard members were sent to help with the influx of crowds expected for America 250 celebrations taking place in the city this summer, not for law enforcement purposes as part of the larger ongoing federal Joint Task Force operation.
But troops from all four Democratic-led states are listed as part of the official federal Joint Task Force numbers released to the public.
When asked about the one Kentucky guard member on that list, Scottie Ellis, communications director for Gov. Andy Beshear, said that designation was against the governor’s wishes. […]
“There might be a mix-up here,” wrote Bobby Leddy, communications director for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in an email to NPR when presented with the list. “The Michigan National Guard are deployed only to support the America 250th celebration activities, not for the Joint Task Force mission.”
* Jon Steinman from ProtectDemocracy.com yesterday…
Hi Rich,
With National Guard troops on Washington, D.C. streets for over a year and state governors considering sending additional forces, 19 former service secretaries and retired general and flag officers sent a letter of thanks to Illinois’ Governor today for refusing to deploy Guard members to the nation’s capital.
The governors of Michigan, Minnesota, and North Carolina have collectively deployed hundreds of Guard troops under the expectation they will assist with America 250 events, according to media reports. But the Administration’s expanding use of Guard forces promises to stretch far behind the narrow mission of helping safeguard the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations –– and represents an affront to our longstanding military tradition of keeping the military out of domestic law enforcement and politics out of the military.
“Over the past 250 years, a non-partisan military has been a bedrock of American democracy,” the former national security leaders wrote to Gov. Pritzker. “Your abstention from the D.C. deployment is an honorable tribute to those who founded our nation and the men and women in uniform who have fought to defend it ever since.”
The undersigned are 19 retired senior defense and military leaders who served under presidents of both parties. Based upon our roles promoting the strength of the military and protecting U.S. national security, we are concerned that several states that have previously objected to the Administration’s domestic National Guard operations have recently deployed troops to Washington, D.C. We applaud your prudence in keeping the Illinois National Guard out of our capital at this time. […
By requiring that Guard personnel engage in routine local policing functions throughout the District, the operation also represents a troubling departure from the settled tradition of separating military personnel from domestic law enforcement, with some orders placing Guardsmen at the center of issues of public controversy. Coupled with the overtly political actions of senior Administration leaders and intense local opposition, the negative impact on morale is apparent.
Bringing more troops into this setting – especially in the absence of any clear security need – would only exacerbate these corrosive trends. Attempts by some state leaders to pre-emptively limit the activities of their deployed troops are well-intended, but do not reflect the unpredictable ways that on-the-ground conditions can evolve and the reality that the Joint Task Force retains operational control over security in the District.
Over the past 250 years, a non-partisan military has been a bedrock of American democracy. Your abstention from the D.C. deployment is an honorable tribute to those who founded our nation and the men and women in uniform who have fought to defend it ever since.
Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall III
General Michael V . Hayden, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Admiral William A. Owens, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Donald C. Arthur, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Michael T. Franken, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Major General Richard T. Devereaux, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Irving L. Halter, Jr., U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Steven J. Lepper, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Randy E. Manner, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Major General Frederick H. Martin, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Gale S. Pollock, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Major General Linda Singh, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Major General F. Andrew Turley, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Rear Admiral (Lower Half) James A. Barnett, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Brigadier General Steven M. Anderson, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Brigadier General John W. Douglass, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Brigadier General Robert J. Felderman, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Brigadier General Joseph V . Medina, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
* I asked the governor’s office for a response…
President Trump has attempted to deploy military troops against peaceful American communities, politicize the brave men and women serving in the National Guard, and use America 250 as his own political project. Gov. Pritzker joins millions of Americans celebrating our nation’s history, including through the Illinois America 250 Commission activities, but he respects our service members and will always try to prevent them from being used for Trump’s political agenda.
Thursday, Jul 2, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* ICYMI: Here are the Illinois data centers on track for more than $650M in tax credits. Capitol News Illinois…
- Illinois committed an estimated $666.6 million in tax credits to data center projects through 2025, according to an annual Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity report.
- The $666.6 million in total estimated tax credits through 2025 is lower than the $983.2 million DCEO reported through 2024 in a report released last summer.
- The latest report shows seven data centers inked deals in 2025, pledging to invest a combined $2.6 billion in Illinois to receive $159.9 million in tax benefits. This includes four sites in Elk Grove Village, including a new data center built by Oracle, and a controversial center built by T5 in Grayslake.
* At 10 am, Gov. JB Pritzker will hold a ceremonial bill signing for legislation advancing equity and oversight in the cannabis industry. Click here to watch. Then, at 2:30 p.m., he’ll head to the Village of Lynwood’s Pre-4th of July Cookout to greet attendees and celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* Subscribers know more. Tribune | Suburban Democratic Party chairs to pick Aurora-area Illinois Senate nominee behind closed doors : Democratic state Rep. Matt Hanson, who represents half the state Senate district in his current role, said Wednesday he had submitted his name for consideration, as did at least two other local Democrats. […] The weighted vote is split among the county party chairs of Kane, Kendall, DuPage and Will, putting a lot of sway into just a few largely unknown party insiders who are expected to move quickly.
* Subscribers know more. NBC Chicago | Illinois House speaker calls on State Rep. Harry Benton to resign: Welch says the IG’s report found “clear patterns of conduct by Representative Benton that are outrageous, unethical and unbecoming of a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, and that he had spoken to Benton to demand his resignation. “Today, I spoke directly with Representative Benton and called for his immediate resignation from the Illinois House of Representatives,” he said in a statement. “If he does not resign, we will initiate the process of expelling him from the House.”
* Sun-Times | Chicago FBI chief leaving unexpectedly, raising eyebrows amid feds’ ongoing credibility crisis: DePodesta led the agency’s Chicago Field Office for nearly two years, taking the helm in August 2024. He’s been with the FBI since 2002, and over the course of his career he’s worked investigations involving drugs, corruption, terrorism and foreign counterintelligence. He’s repeatedly touted the value of partnerships between federal, state and local law enforcement while serving as the FBI’s special agent in charge.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Sun-Times | Can Illinois’ newest state agency improve early childhood services? Officials hope so: State officials hope it will solve the challenges that families faced as they assessed their early learning options. With services spread across different agencies, some parents had to fill out duplicate forms. And it was difficult for families to get an overall picture of where quality programs existed because multiple entities were responsible for monitoring that. Ramos will be in charge of 550 staffers and shepherd a $4.4 billion budget approved by the state legislature for early childhood education and care. That includes 340 staff transferring from the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Human Services and the State Board of Education.
*** Chicago ***
* Tribune | No ‘cakewalk’: Chicago school board president reflects on shift to elected governance: Harden, who was handpicked by Johnson, is typically more reserved in public meetings, but he did not mince words Tuesday before a packed audience at City Club of Chicago. He was joined by State Rep. Ann Williams, a Chicago Democrat who helped craft the legislation creating the elected school board. “There isn’t a blueprint for how you do this, and we’re going to mess up, but as long as we fail quickly and learn from it, then we’ll be better off,” Harden said.
* Tribune | Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling to retire after nearly 3 years leading department: Snelling, 57, ascended to the top of the Chicago Police Department in August 2023 after nearly three decades with the department, mostly as an instructor in the police academy. His tenure as superintendent was marked by a continuing decline in overall city gun violence, an increase in compliance with a federal consent decree, a global spotlight brought by the 2024 Democratic National Convention and the chaos that the department was foisted into during a federal immigration crackdown last year.
* Bloomberg | Chicago Taps Bank of America for Overdue Parking Debt Sale: Chicago has picked Bank of America Corp. to help sell debt it’s owed from items like overdue parking tickets, according to a city spokesperson. The third-largest US city is seeking to sell about $1 billion in outstanding debt as it tries to close a roughly $1.2 billion deficit this year.
* Block Club | Crime Is Down On The CTA As Ridership Increases, Agency Boss Says: But for the second time this year on Wednesday, it was City Council members — not CTA brass — who did not show up for a scheduled oversight meeting. The City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Public Way scheduled the quarterly subject matter hearing for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Seven of the committee’s 14 members needed to be present for the meeting to take place, but only six were.
* Block Club | South Siders Still Waiting For Tree Cleanup After June Storms, But City Departments Are ‘Overwhelmed’: Between June 10-25, the Department of Streets and Sanitation recorded about 30,771 tree-related requests submitted through 311, according to city data. Those requests ranged from cleaning up fallen tree debris to tree emergencies, which the department defines as trees blocking city streets. The 13th Ward, which includes neighborhoods on the Southwest Side, had the highest number of tree service cleanup requests with more than 1,700, according to city data. The South Side’s 21st Ward had the second-highest total with about 1,600 tree cleanup requests.
* WBEZ | Top aide to ex-Ald. Carrie Austin gets probation for role in home improvement kickbacks: The former top aide to one of Chicago’s longest-serving alderpeople has been sentenced to three years probation and a $20,000 fine for his role in a scheme in which the pair allegedly used their public office to attain granite countertops and other home improvements. The sentencing this week of Chester Wilson Jr., former chief of staff to then-Ald. Carrie Austin (34th), could be the closing chapter in an infamous, yearslong public corruption case in which U.S. District Judge John Kness previously ruled Austin, 77, was medically unfit for trial.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Tribune | Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposes new transit board members: Preckwinkle’s proposed CTA appointees are Tom Kotarac, a current member of the Regional Transportation Authority board, and Ann Kalayil, associate vice president of facilities and construction at Columbia College Chicago and the former bureau chief of asset management for the county.
* Lake County News-Sun | Waukegan D60 planning to cut spending by $11.5M this year: ‘There was no way we could continue the services we had’: Learning that cash reserves dropped $28.2 million, from $92.3 million to $64.2 million in the past year, during a May 13 budget workshop, board members asked Superintendent Theresa Plascencia and Associate Superintendent for Business and Financial Services Gwen Polk for a plan. When the board gathered for its second budget workshop on June 18, Plascencia and Polk explained plans to cut spending by $11.5 million for the fiscal year starting July 1.
* Tribune | With $225 million donation, Northwestern Medicine hopes to construct new cancer care facility in Orland Park: In all, the new four-story office building, along with a 484-car parking garage, would cost $275 million. The facility would be the latest entry into a race among Chicago area health systems to expand their cancer offerings to meet growing demand for the care – due to an aging population and advances that have led to people living longer after a diagnosis. The new facility would sit on the Northwestern Medicine Orland Park campus, which is already home to Northwestern’s St. George Cancer Institute, according to an application for the project filed with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The project must gain approval from that board before it may move forward.
* Daily Herald | District 15 school board member steps down: Palatine Township Elementary District 15 board member Lisa Beth Szczupaj announced Tuesday she is stepping down after nine years, eight as board president. Szczupaj, who won reelection in 2025, said the decision did not come easily. “It is not driven by dissatisfaction, but rather by evolving professional responsibilities and increasing family commitments that require more of my time and attention,” she said.
*** Downstate ***
* KSDK | Pritzker tours Southern Illinois tornado damage, pledges recovery support: The visits came a day after Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation for 11 Illinois counties affected by months of severe weather, including tornadoes, flooding, hail and straight-line winds. The proclamation makes additional state resources available to support response and recovery efforts and can help communities pursue state and federal disaster assistance. Still, Pritzker said federal assistance may be limited. “The recovery mode, making sure we can get resources from the Small Business Administration at the federal level. I doubt that we’re going to see FEMA because they really cut back at what they provide at the federal level,” Pritzker said.
* WGLT | State-issued disaster proclamation will not have immediate impact on McLean County: The proclamation was signed to “provide state relief to support those impacted by severe weather and storms in order to accelerate the recovery process,” Pritzker said in a press release. But to have an impact on Illinois and McLean County, the proclamation will need to be approved at the federal level, McLean County Emergency Management Agency Director Cathy Beck said. “Right now it doesn’t mean anything other than it’s going up the channels. It needs to go to federal and be approved at federal before there’s really any chance of assistance,” Beck said.
* WGLT | Farmer fined $250K after pesticide drift near Morton school: She filed the initial complaint with IDOA after she and other parents were notified by the school by email that high wind drifted the pesticides from the farm across the street to the school’s parking lot. Vandenberg said she supports an amendment to the Illinois Pesticide Act to better protect families and communities. Some Illinois lawmakers feel the same. Democratic state Rep. Laura Faver Dias, representing a suburb of Chicago, sponsored a bill to require farmers spraying pesticides near a school or park to send an email 72 hours in advance notifying when they would be applying the pesticides.
* WCIA | Surgery ‘temporarily’ paused at Central Illinois hospital due to ‘extreme heat’: On Wednesday, a Carle Health spokesperson confirmed with WCIA that the Champaign Ambulatory Surgery Center cooling system has been impacted by the extreme heat conditions. “Our priority is to create the safest surgical environment possible, and we will be temporarily halting procedures to assure safety. We are in the process of contacting impacted patients and will be working around the clock to resume care as soon as possible,” Carle Health said in a statement sent to WCIA.
