Burke Teams Up With Donor on Zoning Proposal Medical marijuana dispensaries would be allowed in the Loop under a change to Chicago zoning regulations pitched by Ald. Ed Burke and a campaign contributor he once helped nearly double his state pension through a one-month sweetheart deal. Former-state-lawmaker-turned-lobbyist Robert Molaro told the City Council Zoning Committee on Tuesday about the roadblock that pot dispensaries now face: They're technically allowed in some Loop areas, but the potential sites are within 1,000 feet of a school or day-care facility, and that rules them out under state law. [continues 331 words]
Policy Clears Committee After Changes to Ease Aldermen's Concerns A panel of Chicago aldermen spent three hours Thursday voicing skepticism about Mayor Rahm Emanuel's marijuana ticket proposal, then all but one council member voted for it. If the plan wins final approval at Wednesday's City Council meeting, police could be issuing pot-possession tickets as early as July. Officers would continue to arrest people caught smoking marijuana or carrying it on park or school grounds. Authorities also would arrest anyone younger than 17 caught with pot or anyone they believed was trying to sell the drug. [continues 449 words]
Councilman Wants More Details About Ticketing Vs. Arrests An influential Chicago alderman said Monday that he's not ready to sign off on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Although Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, didn't rule out backing the mayor's plan, the veteran City Council member said he needs to know more about when police will write tickets instead of making arrests. "If you run across somebody that's violating the law and you want to write them a ticket as opposed to taking them into custody, and that person has no identification, how do you write the ticket?" Burke asked, after a speech at the City Club of Chicago. [continues 461 words]
Hearing Cancelled After ACLU Sends Letter Chicago aldermen are balking at a proposal to impose random drug tests on all city employees as the American Civil Liberties Union raises questions about whether it would survive a court challenge. A City Council committee that was scheduled to consider the drug test idea this afternoon cancelled the meeting after the ACLU sent a letter to aldermen. The letter warned that courts have repeatedly stuck down laws that require "suspicionless drug testing of government employees whose possible drug use raises no significant concerns." [continues 676 words]
In an effort to determine whether local stores are selling herbal products designed to thwart drug tests, Kane County Circuit Judge James Doyle went undercover. Donning street clothes, a cap and sunglasses, Doyle earlier this month went to the General Nutrition Center in Batavia. After telling them he needed a so-called purge product for a drug test, he was directed to a locked cabinet that contained several such concoctions, he said. "I bought a little bottle of liquid, and it cost me $40," Doyle said. [continues 718 words]
A 52-year-old Lisle man died Wednesday night at his girlfriend's home, apparently after taking the anti-impotence drug Viagra he obtained through an Internet site, officials said Thursday. Paramedics were called to the Aurora home of the 48-year-old woman about an hour before the man was declared dead at Provena Mercy Center. The man died of a heart attack, said Steve O'Brien, chief deputy Kane County coroner. The woman told police that the man, a smoker, had two beers at a tavern earlier in the evening. [continues 554 words]
Much to the chagrin of pot-smoking teenagers and adults, Aurora Community Policing Officer Paul Lindley and his partner, Officer Clark Johnson, logged 1,000 miles in bicycle patrols on the far east side of Aurora last year. "We get a lot of marijuana off the bikes," Lindley said. "They have areas where they hide. We are more accessible to them than the patrol cars. We use our senses--sight and smell--to get them." One evening, Lindley and Johnson sneaked up on a group of young people who were drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Within five minutes, they had made 32 arrests on charges of underage drinking, marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession. Two cars were impounded as a result. [continues 668 words]
Vehicles in which someone is arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia now will be impounded by Aurora police. The Aurora City Council on Tuesday added the offense to a long list of crimes for which vehicles are impounded. The owner will have to pay $500 or post a bond of equal value to retrieve the vehicle, plus pay a $75 towing fee and $15-a-day storage costs. If the person is convicted, the $500 bond or payment will be forfeited. [continues 155 words]
