The Daily Populous Friday January 1st, 2021 day edition
Authored by apnews.com and submitted by ChiGuy6124

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday the forgiveness and expungement of about 500,000 criminal cannabis cases.

Pritzker said he issued pardons for 9,210 low-level cannabis convictions, while Illinois State Police have wiped clean more than 492,000 non-felony cannabis-related arrest records.

The actions by Pritzker and state police is mandated by the Illinois law that legalized the licensed sale of marijuana starting in 2020. The intent of the law is to reduce the impact of the war on drugs on minorities, who were disproportionately arrested and locked up for cannabis crimes.

“We will never be able to fully remedy the depth of that damage,” Pritzker said. “But we can govern with the courage to admit the mistakes of our past and the decency to set a better path forward.”

The law requires 47,000 cannabis-related arrest records created between 2013 and 2019 be expunged by Friday. With the expungement of all 492,129 cannabis arrest records, state police officials said they are ahead of the January 2025 deadline for completing automatic expungements at the state level.

Arrest records from DuPage, Kane, Knox, Lake, McHenry, McLean, Peoria, Rock Island, Will and Winnebago counties have been expunged. The remaining counties have four years to expunge arrest records.

BelowTheCharacterLim on January 1st, 2021 at 03:01 UTC »

This is nice, except: "Arrest records from DuPage, Kane, Knox, Lake, McHenry, McLean, Peoria, Rock Island, Will and Winnebago counties have been expunged. The remaining counties have four years to expunge arrest records."

In addition to the years some of them have already had this bullshit charge on their criminal record, they now have to wait up to another four years to get it removed. Completely ridiculous and way too lax for a nonsense crime that doesn't just ruin innocent lives, but was explicitly designed with the express purpose of ruining innocent lives for racist politicians' gain.

TacohMan on January 1st, 2021 at 02:45 UTC »

I'm so high right now.

ChiGuy6124 on January 1st, 2021 at 02:13 UTC »

Happy New Year

“CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday the forgiveness and expungement of about 500,000 criminal cannabis cases."

“Pritzker said he issued pardons for 9,210 low-level cannabis convictions, while Illinois State Police have wiped clean more than 492,000 non-felony cannabis-related arrest records.”

“The actions by Pritzker and state police is mandated by the Illinois law that legalized the licensed sale of marijuana starting in 2020. The intent of the law is to reduce the impact of the war on drugs on minorities, who were disproportionately arrested and locked up for cannabis crimes”

“We will never be able to fully remedy the depth of that damage,” Pritzker said. “But we can govern with the courage to admit the mistakes of our past and the decency to set a better path forward.

"State Sen. Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, applauded the expungement and pardons, but said it was only a small step forward."

“As we near the end of the first year of Illinois’ new legal cannabis industry, I am heartened by the progress we have made towards undoing the harms dealt by the failed war on drugs,” Toi Hutchinson, senior advisor to the governor for cannabis control, said in a statement"

"Hutchinson added that none of the other 11 states that have legalized recreational cannabis have taken the step Illinois has taken, by removing low-level and non-violent cannabis-related arrest records."

“Dismantling decades’ worth of criminal justice atrocities will take years. That’s evidenced by how this country handles cannabis,” Lightford said. “We must never stop chipping away at that painful history. I’m proud of these critical first steps.”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cannabis/2020/12/31/22208659/cannabis-marijuana-illinois-expunge-pardon-pritzker-legal-pot