Pubdate: Thu, 25 Sep 2014
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2014 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Fran Spielman
Page: 10

MAYOR RIPS LEWIS OVER POT PROPOSAL

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday ridiculed Chicago Teachers Union 
President Karen Lewis for suggesting that marijuana be legalized and 
taxed because it's a "great revenue source."

"I do not think you should balance the budget by promoting 
recreational smoking of pot," the mayor said. "I've balanced the 
budget three years in a row by holding the line on property, sales 
and gas taxes. Every year, we've put money back in the rainy day 
fund. We also banned flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes within 500 
feet of a school, so we have fewer kids smoking cigarettes. . . . I 
don't think the way to balance the budget is to promote smoking of marijuana."

Lewis responded to the mayor's pot put-down Wednesday night after a 
Q&A session at a Chatham church, where she also asked attendees to 
mail in donations to her mayoral exploratory campaign.

And the one-time teacher suggested the mayor could use a history 
lesson. "Didn't we go through this in the ' 20s with liquor?" Lewis 
said referring to Prohibition. "Are you kidding me? People are 
already doing it, so why not legalize it and tax it?"

She also addressed the ongoing war of words during the audience Q&A, 
suggesting pot legalization would be less harmful than the 
revenue-generating casino that Emanuel has unsuccessfully sought in 
Springfield.

"Quite frankly, gambling is extremely harmful to families, but we see 
people saying, 'I want a casino, I want a casino,' " Lewis said. "Do 
not automatically assume that teenagers are going to automatically 
start using pot . . . because it is legalized. No, they will be 
carded and not served."

She has formed an exploratory committee, hired staff and lent her 
campaign committee $40,000 of her own money. She is also circulating 
nominating petitions. But she has not yet declared her candidacy for mayor.

Earlier this week, Emanuel asked reluctant state lawmakers to soften 
Illinois' war on drugs to let nonviolent offenders off the hook and 
free police officers to focus on more serious crimes.

Emanuel wants the Illinois General Assembly to decriminalize 
possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana and reduce from a felony 
to a misdemeanor the penalty for possession of one gram or less of 
any controlled substance.

Lewis welcomed that plan, but argued that it did not go far enough. 
She said she would take it a step further - by legalizing and taxing marijuana.

"If you look at Colorado in the first quarter, they generated $80 
million. We need to tax it. It's an important revenue source," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom