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CITY HALL — Two Southwest Side alderpeople pushed through bans on hemp products in their wards near Midway Airport Wednesday, taking the stalled statewide battle over unregulated hemp products into their own hands.
Alds. Marty Quinn (13th) and Silvana Tabares (23rd) got the unanimous support of the full City Council to ban hemp products in their wards. The ban does not apply to stores outside their wards.
The new ordinance goes into effect in 90 days. Businesses designated as “Retail Tobacco stores” currently operating in the 13th and 23rd wards won’t get their tobacco licenses renewed when they expire, which could effectively force many out of business because of their reliance on selling THC extract in multiple products.
The move comes as negotiations among state lawmakers drag on about how to regulate the hemp industry, which has propped up hundreds of city businesses legally selling hemp’s THC extract in edibles, drinks, vapes and pre-rolled joints through a loophole in a federal farming act.
RELATED: Hemp Loophole Causing Chaos In City Hall, Springfield
Quinn said he’s sending a message to businesses operating in what he calls “a black market.” He worries about edibles getting in the hands of kids.
“Your license is up and it will not be renewed,” Quinn said. “We should not be putting our kids in harm’s way to make the fast buck.”
The impending ban impacts at least two smoke shops in Quinn’s ward, including those managed by Tom Race, who already requires shoppers to be 21 or older and said he’s done everything by the book.
But after the vote Wednesday, Race said he’s still trying to figure out how he’ll keep the businesses afloat. His license for Blue Dream Smoke Shop, 5601 S. Harlem Ave. Unit B, expires next month while his other one for Mary Jane’s Smoke Shop, 5407 S. Harlem Ave., is good through mid-June, according to city business records.
“We’re OK with regulations,” Race previously said. “But I’ve already invested a lot into what I’m doing, and you’re telling me to start fresh.”
The entrance to Mary Jane’s Smoke Shop, 5407 S. Harlem Ave., in Garfield Ridge on Jan. 9, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Race may have an ally in Ald. William Hall (6th), who slammed Quinn’s ban and promised to meet with smoke shop owners to hear what they’re up against.
Hall, an ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson and chairperson of a committee focused on finding new revenue for the city, introduced an ordinance Wednesday that would establish a 21-and-up age requirement to purchase hemp products “capable of producing a psychoactive effect.”
Hall thinks the city can raise between $20 million and $80 million a year on taxing hemp if it regulates it before the state, which legalized cannabis five years ago and now reaps the lion’s share of taxes on licensed dispensaries.
He’s scheduling a City Council subject-matter meeting about hemp for Jan. 30 — and called Quinn a “separatist” for moving ahead with a ban before hearing it out.
“But if this is the spark that we need to pay attention that hemp is unregulated, so be it,” Hall said. “My frustration is when grown folks argue, kids are used.”
A state bill championed by Gov. JB Pritzker to ban intoxicating hemp products outside of dispensaries failed to pass after some Democrats criticized the proposal for not giving small business owners a second chance at selling a more regulated buzz.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who is being championed by the Illinois Hemp Business Association, said opposing sides in Springfield are now “far” from an agreement.
“Dispensaries don’t want a competitor,” said Ford, who called his work a social equity push for minority businesspeople who couldn’t snag state licenses for dispensaries.
Edie Moore, who owns city dispensaries with licenses awarded in the state’s social equity lotteries, said hemp stores that cut corners should just “stop selling weed.”
“You found a loophole, you built your business and livelihood on it, how can you be surprised when it close up?” Moore said. “There’s people who stuck it out, got their businesses open and are following the rules.”
But Moore said it is “not right” for Race or business owners like him to lose their tobacco license.
“You can sell your bongs, your papers, your t-shirts, CBD balms and creams, as long as you’re not selling weed,” Moore said. “But now he can’t sell anything.”
Quinn suggested Hall should “focus on the 6th ward.”
“I’m not going to call Ald. Hall names,” Quinn said. “I’m full steam ahead.”
City Council allies of Quinn have suggested they may introduce their own ordinances banning hemp products in their wards.
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“}]] Businesses designated as “Retail Tobacco stores” currently operating in the 13th and 23rd wards won’t get their tobacco licenses renewed when they expire, which could effectively force many out of business. Read More
