Pubdate: Wed, 24 Sep 2014
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2014 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Authors: Bill Ruthhart, John Byrne and Dahleen Glanton
Page: 1

MAYOR PITCHES PLAN TO SOFTEN DRUG PENALTIES

Critics Say It's Part of Future Push for Stricter Gun Law

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday started to sell his idea of loosening 
Illinois drug laws for possession of illegal substances like 
marijuana, heroin and cocaine, but some of those he has to convince 
said they're skeptical because he'll want tougher gun laws in return.

The reception to Emanuel's plan to decriminalize marijuana statewide 
and reduce minor drug possession to a misdemeanor illustrated the 
difficult slog the mayor faces as he tries to secure a signature 
victory on violent crime, an issue that's been at the forefront of his tenure.

The re-election-seeking mayor has tried to get state lawmakers to 
require mandatory prison sentences for illegal gun possession, which 
he says would help crack down on the city's continued gun violence. 
But that effort stalled nearly a year ago amid opposition from 
African-American legislators opposed to stricter gun sentences.

Now Emanuel is holding out the incentive of ensuring that people 
caught with 1 gram or less of any controlled substance won't be hit 
with a felony charge to try to get enough support to pass the gun 
sentencing bill. Emanuel also would expand Chicago's marijuana 
ticketing law statewide, allowing police to issue tickets of $250 to 
$500 for someone caught with up to 15 grams of pot - the equivalent 
of about 25 cigarette-sized joints.

The idea is to free up police officers to focus on violent crime and 
save the expense of keeping those charged with low-level drug 
possession in jail.

"It's not just about saving taxpayer dollars, it's also about saving 
nonviolent offenders from a lifetime spent in and out of the criminal 
justice system," Emanuel said. "A felony conviction can slam the door 
on someone's future and make it harder to go to school, apply for 
financial aid and find housing. There are times when a felony 
conviction is no doubt warranted, but we have to ask ourselves 
whether it's too high a price for using drugs."

The approach is in line with a national trend of freeing up prison 
space and police resources to deal with more violent offenders, 
experts said. While only Colorado and Washington have voted to 
decriminalize and legalize marijuana for recreational use, other 
cities and states are considering penalty reductions similar to what 
Emanuel has proposed.

In November, drug policy reform questions will appear on the ballot 
in seven states and at least 17 municipalities.

"It's part of an enormous and growing momentum across the country to 
control marijuana in a different way, by shifting from policies that 
primarily criminalize enormous numbers of young people of color in 
favor of policies that focus on high-level manufacture and 
distribution," said Stephen Gutwillig, deputy executive director of 
the Drug Policy Alliance in NewYork.

Not everyone was eager to back the mayor's new proposal. A state law 
enforcement group lined up against the plan, and state lawmakers wary 
of his push for mandatory sentences for gun possession voiced concern.

During a tense, 20-minute exchange at a Tuesday hearing in Chicago, 
state Rep. Ken Dunkin, chairman of the Illinois Legislative Black 
Caucus, pressed Emanuel on what he viewed as the administration's 
failure to combat violent crime. Dunkin, D-Chicago, sought to pin 
down the mayor on whether he would support weakening drug possession 
sentences only in exchange for mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes.

"If legislation does not have mandatory minimums, as you and the 
superintendent have advocated, would you be in favor of supporting 
it?" asked Dunkin, who derailed Emanuel's gun crime bill last year in 
the House with a rare procedural motion.

"Details matter. I would look at the whole bill," the mayor 
responded. "The first step, though, is dealing with the narcotics 
piece. I do want to see a focus on the violent crimes in the city of 
Chicago, but I can't answer a question about hypotheticals."

Dunkin noted that the House-Senate Joint Criminal Justice Reform 
Committee, which held Tuesday's hearing, was created as a compromise 
after Emanuel's tougher gun sentences bill failed. Rep. Mike 
Zalewski, D-Riverside, who sponsored Emanuel's bill last year, chairs 
the reform committee.

Zalewski said he did not believe Emanuel's prior push for mandatory 
minimum sentences for illegal gun possession could pass in 
Springfield without a provision to also loosen drug possession penalties.

"I think it would be unwise for us to propose any bill that doesn't 
have balance, which is drugs and tougher penalties for certain 
violent offenses," he said. "I don't think anything short of that can pass."

Another member of the panel, state Sen. Kwame Raoul, said he has 
opposed Emanuel's push for mandatory minimum sentences for illegal 
gun possession because he does not believe the discretion of a judge 
should be removed. The Democratic lawmaker from Chicago said someone 
caught carrying an illegal gun for protection in a crime-ridden 
neighborhood should not be punished the same as a gang member looking 
to shoot someone.

Raoul said he thinks Emanuel's support on lesser drug possession 
penalties is "contingent on him getting some sort of policy to deal 
with violence, yes." But, he added, "I don't think he's hellbent on 
mandatory minimums. I think it's about trying to do something about violence."

But Dunkin insisted Emanuel simply was adopting old ideas he said 
have been batted around Springfield. He said the mayor's "political 
grandstanding" was aimed at scoring him political points and drawing 
attention away from his push for mandatory minimum sentences.

"It's political acrobatics. There was nothing new," Dunkin said. "I 
guess he sends out a press release, we buy it and it gets covered, 
but what he's talking about is so 4 or 5 years old right now."

While Emanuel did not mention his previous proposal for stiffer 
illegal gun possession penalties Tuesday, he pitched marijuana 
tickets and drug possession misdemeanors as a more efficient way to 
deal with minor crimes.

He cited Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's figure that 
it costs taxpayers $143 a day to house inmates at the jail and said 
the vast majority of low-level narcotics cases don't result in convictions.

Emanuel also portrayed Chicago's marijuana ticketing program as a 
success, after acknowledging that the city initially had a disparity 
with minorities receiving fewer tickets and more arrests for pot possession.

City Hall released numbers showing that gap has been closed this year.

The mayor said many of those minority arrests were because the 
offender was not able to present an ID, and Police Department policy 
required an arrest as a result. That requirement has since been 
loosened, and those arrested without an ID can simply give the 
officer their name and information, he said.

While police Superintendent Garry McCarthy backed Emanuel's proposal 
as a common-sense measure, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of 
Police said it could create confusion because the use, manufacture 
and distribution of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. And 
leaving it up to an officer to decide whether to issue a ticket or to 
arrest someone in possession of marijuana could result in 
inconsistent application of the law, said Laimutis Nargelenas, a 
lobbyist for the group.

"One of the biggest concerns we have as police chiefs is you have to 
look at that and be sure the discretion used by the officer is done 
properly," Nargelenas said. "You don't want to see minorities charged 
on state charges and others given the city ordinance violation. We 
have to make sure officers are utilizing that properly."

Ald. Howard Brookins Jr., 21st, shared that concern, saying equal 
enforcement clearly has not been the case in Chicago, where he's 
heard complaints about the double standard police have for minorities.

"Many of my clients feel like they never get the benefit of that 
discretion," he said.

Still, Brookins, chairman of the City Council's black caucus and a 
practicing criminal defense attorney, said Emanuel's proposed changes 
make some sense.

"I do applaud the effort, because we have people getting caught up 
(in the criminal justice system) over dime bags, and then that hangs 
over them for the rest of their lives," he said, referring to small 
packages of an illicit drug sold for a low price.

Ald. Emma Mitts, 37th, said sparing people from the lifelong stigma 
of a felony conviction for a drug arrest would give them a second chance.

"You have some people who make a mistake, and the way the laws are 
now, it leaves them trapped and hopeless," she said. "They end up 
doing something desperate. If it was a misdemeanor, they would have 
better chances at a job and an education, some way to better themselves."

Like Brookins, Mitts said she has gotten complaints that Chicago 
police still are arresting too many AfricanAmericans rather than 
handing out tickets for petty marijuana offenses. Reflecting the 
difficult choices elected officials face in many violent parts of the 
city where residents want their streets safer, the veteran alderman 
said she is loath to tell Police Department brass to stop putting so 
many people behind bars.

"(Arrests) are a tool the police have to deal with the situation," 
Mitts said. "I don't want to see the law applied unfairly to people 
in my ward, see people locked up for petty stuff, but at the same 
time I'm inundated with crime and gangs. On the one hand I'm asking 
(the police) to help me with the crime, and on the other hand I'm 
saying don't lock them up? That's a tough situation."

Toward the end of his testimony to lawmakers Tuesday, the centrist 
Emanuel offered a liberal take on the issue.

"I actually believe we should change our sentencing policy to make it 
in line with our values," said Emanuel, who could face opposition 
from the political left in the late February mayoral election. "It's 
time to free up our resources for the truly violent offenders who 
pose a bigger threat to the safety of our communities and neighborhoods."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom