Good to see that Illinois is no better than the rest of them and that politics of the state remains the same as ever, Studs Terkel would be proud !
Thanks to Mike Luce of High Yield Insights for pointing us toward this one.
The Chicago Sun Times reports…
After serving as one of Illinois’ top cannabis regulators, Cook County Commissioner Bridget Degnen pitched herself as an expert last summer as she offered to write applications for a group seeking pot shop licenses, the Sun-Times has learned.
I chose to serve as Cook County Commissioner because I’m dedicated to solving the problems of how to keep our neighborhoods safe, raise revenue without raising your taxes, and combat climate change. One of my primary goals as your Cook County Commissioner is to increase confidence in the electorate, and provide information on the services Cook County offers.
One applicant said it felt like Degnen, a Chicago Democrat representing the county’s 12th District, “knew what the application looked like before anyone else did.”
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The first group of 21 finalists in the application process — which was supposed to prioritize social equity candidates in an attempt to diversify the largely white world of weed — ended up including individuals with deep pockets and connections to state politics. More than 900 applicants jilted in the first round will now have the opportunity to challenge their scores and revise their applications.
The Sun-Times has found that at least two firms that advanced to the lottery have hired former officials who worked for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the agency that oversees cannabis dispensaries. Degnen also worked for nearly four years as the IDFPR’s deputy director of medical cannabis before leaving in 2017 to run for office.
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