Pubdate: Tue, 03 Feb 2015
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Authors: Becky Schlikerman and Jon Seidel

GOV MOVES FAST ON MEDICAL POT

Rauner Awarding Farming, Selling Licenses That Quinn Didn't Issue

The marijuana seeds can soon be planted.

In a move that surprised advocates of the medical marijuana program, 
Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration on Monday announced it would issue 
most of the coveted licenses to grow and sell the medical product.

The move came amid fears Rauner would take months to determine who 
should be awarded the new state licenses.

Patients and medical marijuana advocates lauded the governor for 
taking swift action on the licenses, allowing the medical marijuana 
program to gain momentum.

"The fact that Gov. Rauner didn't sit on it forever, it shows class," 
said Jim Champion, an Army veteran with multiple sclerosis who 
advocated for the legalization of medical marijuana.

The process fell to Rauner after his predecessor, former Gov. Pat 
Quinn, left office without announcing who could grow and sell Illinois pot.

Quinn did that despite his administration producing a list of 
businesses recommended to land the licenses to grow and sell medical 
marijuana, the Chicago Sun- Times first reported last week.

Monday's decision to award 18 medical marijuana farming licenses and 
52 selling licenses heartened business owners who had been on both 
lists, but it dismayed others who had spent thousands on the 
application process and weren't selected.

The long- awaited announcement Monday was made by Rauner's general 
counsel, Jason Barclay, who said issues were found during a review of 
the licensing process used by Quinn's administration.

Quinn staffers have repeatedly said applications were subjected to a 
blind review process - without regard to applicants' identities.

However, a review by Rauner's team found state agencies conducted a 
"character and fitness review" once the blind scoring was complete.

Rauner's staff also enlisted Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office 
to help with its review. In the end, the governor's staff decided 
Quinn's approach could result in "costly litigation" and wouldn't 
hold up in court, Barclay said.

On Monday, a spokesman for the former governor said Quinn's 
administration didn't issue licenses based on the preliminary list 
because the former governor "felt the process was incomplete" and 
needed more work before it was finalized.

But the Rauner administration's list of license holders doesn't 
differ significantly from the one left behind by Quinn.

Among the winners are a Quinn fundraiser, a former state bureaucrat 
and a retired Will County judge.

But some applications remain under review. And they include two from 
Health Central LLC.

The Quinn administration had appeared to disqualify Health Central, 
without explanation, in its bid for three downstate cultivation 
center licenses and two dispensary licenses in Springfield and Collinsville.

Quinn's former chief of staff, Jack Lavin, served as Health Central's 
lobbyist. And a company owned by a partner in Health Central was sued 
in Colorado for allegedly handing out marijuana-laced candy to 
unsuspecting Denver County fairgoers.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom