Emanuel wants to decriminalize pot statewide
Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to call on state lawmakers to decriminalize marijuana possession statewide and to reduce the penalty to a misdemeanor for those caught with 1 gram or less of any controlled substance.
By Bill Ruthhart,
Tribune reporter
September 23, 2014, 9:10 AM
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday plans to call on state lawmakers to decriminalize marijuana possession statewide and to reduce the penalty to a misdemeanor for those caught with 1 gram or less of any controlled substance, according to City Hall sources familiar with the plan.
Chicago already passed a law in 2012 that allowed police to issue tickets of $250 to $500 for someone caught with 15 grams or less of pot — the equivalent of about 25 cigarette-sized joints. Emanuel will recommend at a state legislative hearing Tuesday that lawmakers apply the provision to all of Illinois, Emanuel administration sources said late Monday.
The idea of changing possession of small amounts of any controlled substance from a felony to a misdemeanor is a new step for Emanuel, although such reductions in sentencing have been pushed by other elected officials, including Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
For Emanuel, who is up for re-election in February, the proposals could help him on two fronts: at the state Capitol and in city voting booths.
Easing sentencing for less-violent crimes such as drug possession could help Emanuel win backing from state lawmakers who have been reluctant to a pass tougher sentencing measure for gun crimes. But pushing for such liberal sentencing reforms also could help Emanuel politically as the centrist Democrat braces for challenges from the political left in his upcoming campaign for a second term.
"The key issue is we really want comprehensive reform, and we want to reallocate resources we're spending now on nonviolent, low-level offenders, so we can focus more on violent crime," said an Emanuel administration source familiar with the plan who was not authorized to speak publicly. "This would free up a lot of officer time when you're charging someone with a misdemeanor instead of a felony, and it would obviously free up jail space, which is a priority for both the mayor and the Cook County board president."
The Emanuel administration estimates that 7,000 people are arrested each year for possession of 1 gram or less of a drug.
