Pritzker says pot law will create black and Latino millionaires as black aldermen push delay of sales over lack of diversity in industry

Gov. J.B. Pritzker side-stepped questions Wednesday regarding a push by black aldermen to delay sales of recreational weed while claiming the goal of statewide legalization is to help people of color make millions.

“We want the industry to be diverse,” Pritzker said after signing a “trailer bill” that addressed technical issues related to the state legalization law he signed in June.

“We want people who have been left out and left behind to have a real opportunity to not only benefit from this new industry but to create new millionaires in the black community and the Latino community all across the state,” Pritzker told reporters at the offices of Cabrini Green Legal Aid at 6 S. Clark St.

However, the billionaire heir of the Hyatt Hotels fortune didn’t explicitly address the effort by the Black Caucus in the City Council to push back the start of recreational cannabis sales in Chicago over concerns that none of the state’s pot businesses have black owners. The 20-member caucus introduced an ordinance in October that would prevent dispensaries from doling out recreational weed until July 1.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), the caucus chair, continued to raise concerns over the lack of black ownership during a hearing Wednesday of the City Council’s Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity. No vote was slated on the measure.

“We are using the power we have to find equity in this process,” Ervin said in a statement, acknowledging that delaying sales “is not ideal.”

“We are looking to support our Black communities with funding, training and outreach during the delay to prepare them for July 2020,” Ervin said. “We will continue to have conversations with our caucus and council members until we have the solutions our community needs.”

State officials, meanwhile, say it will take more time for the social equity provisions in the law to go into effect.

Toi Hutchinson, a key architect of the legalization law and the governor’s top pot adviser, added that “January 1 is just the beginning” of the rollout of the cannabis law.

So far, 14 of Illinois’ 21 current cultivation centers have earned licenses to grow recreational weed and 30 of the state’s 55 existing dispensaries have been awarded licenses to sell both medical and recreational pot.

To earn those licenses, existing operators had to cough up hefty application fees that will form the economic bedrock of the social equity program. Dispensary owners will also have to make another contribution to the state’s cannabis business development fund, which will be used to offer fee relief, loans and technical assistance to equity candidates.

Pritzker noted that Tuesday marks the first chance for social equity candidates to apply for a range of cannabis licenses, including for the next 75 recreational dispensary permits.

Brian Rich/Sun-Times file