Pubdate: Sat, 15 Aug 2015
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2015 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Monique Garcia

RAUNER PUSHES STRICTER POT BILL

Governor Rewrites Measure, Which Now Returns to Lawmakers

SPRINGFIELD - Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday used his veto 
powers to rewrite a bill aimed at decriminalizing possession of small 
amounts of marijuana, saying the measure that lawmakers sent him 
would let people carry too much pot and sets fines too low.

Rauner said while he supports the "fundamental purposes" of keeping 
people out of jail and cutting court costs, such a significant change 
in drug laws "must be made carefully and incrementally." Sponsors of 
the bill pushed back, saying the changes are "low-hanging fruit" when 
it comes to reforming the criminal justice system and contending the 
governor is working against his own goal of reducing the number of 
prison inmates.

Under the proposal, people caught with up to 15 grams of marijuana - 
about the equivalent of 25 cigarette-sized joints - would not go to 
court but instead receive fines ranging from $55 to $125. Rauner said 
those standards were too lax and the threshold should be lowered to 
10 grams and fines should range from $100 to $200.

The governor also took issue with a provision that would loosen the 
state's zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence of 
cannabis. Currently, a driver can be charged if any trace of 
marijuana is detected, even if it was ingested days or weeks before 
and a driver showed no signs of impairment. The bill that lawmakers 
sent Rauner would have set new limits of 15 nanograms of THC per 
milliliter of blood. Rauner again argued that standard went too far 
in the opposite direction, suggesting the limit instead should be 5 
nanograms per milliliter of blood.

Sponsoring Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, acknowledged that science 
on that front is evolving and said she knew when the bill passed that 
lawmakers probably would have to revisit what levels of THC - the 
psychoactive component of marijuana - were acceptable when someone 
was behind the wheel.

Cassidy called Rauner's partial veto "frustrating," saying she made 
numerous changes during the negotiation process at the behest of 
Republican leaders who act as the governor's liaisons.

"This goal of reducing the prison population is one that we share, 
but it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be accomplished 
with half measures," Cassidy said. "It really comes down to with 
every change you make, someone gets arrested who wouldn't otherwise. 
And if we want to keep people out of our jail system we have to take 
bold moves, and does putting someone in jail for 10 grams instead of 
15 grams make us safer? I would argue it doesn't."

Sen. Jason Barickman, a Bloomington Republican who voted for the 
bill, said Rauner simply was using his "unique power to help correct 
imperfect legislative negotiations."

"This is a significant change in public policy. We want to get it 
right," Barickman said. "The governor is expressing his opinion on 
that, which helps us move the ball forward."

The bill now returns to lawmakers, who can vote to go along with 
Rauner's changes or reject them. If lawmakers opt not to take up the 
changes, the bill dies. Cassidy said she would have to regroup with 
supporters to decide the next move.

In the meantime, current law stands. That means someone caught with 
small amounts of marijuana faces fines of up to $2,500 and up to a 
year in a jail.

Legislators signed off on the proposal in May after Cook County 
State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who is expected to face a tough 
re-election fight next year, announced her office would stop 
prosecuting low-level marijuana possession cases for people with 
fewer than three arrests or citations.

The state legislation also follows a measure enacted by Chicago in 
2012 that allowed police to issue tickets of $250 to $500 for someone 
caught with 15 grams or less of marijuana.

Also Friday, Rauner used his amendatory veto powers to make changes 
in a law that would have extended the state's medical marijuana trial 
program, which is set to expire in January 2018.

Lawmakers wanted to push that date back by four years from the time 
the state's first dispensary opens later this year. Advocates said 
the extension is needed after delays under then-Democratic Gov. Pat 
Quinn resulted in patients spending the majority of the initial 
four-year trial period without access to medical marijuana.

But Rauner said the program should only be extended by four months 
because that "would account for the delay in the final months of the 
prior administration."

"Given that no sale has yet occurred and we have not had an 
opportunity to evaluate the success and failure of the pilot program, 
a further extension would be premature," Rauner wrote to lawmakers.

Sponsoring Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said the governor's refusal to 
agree to a longer test period ultimately would drive up the cost of 
medical marijuana because businesses just getting started in Illinois 
won't be able to plan into the future and will have to charge more to 
make a return on their investments. That, Lang said, would drive 
people to buy pot illegally.

"My concern when I got into this was to help patients, and I don't 
think the governor's actions today do much to help patients," Lang said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom