FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
CONTACT: Kate LeFurgy
312.744.2507
Kate.LeFurgy@cityofchicago.org
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK ANNOUNCES PROCESS FOR RESTRICTED CANNABIS ZONE
Petition process set to begin on January 2nd for legally registered voters in Chicago’s precincts
CHICAGO – The Office of the City Clerk announced today the procedure for restricting cannabis business establishments or home cultivation in individual precincts across the City of Chicago. Beginning January 2nd, residents who are interested in restricting cannabis establishments ranging from cultivation centers to dispensaries, can file a notice of intent with the Office of the City Clerk. The resident must be a legally registered voter in the precinct the individual seeks to restrict. The Office of the City Clerk is responsible for facilitating the petition process as laid out by Illinois State Law.
A legal voter seeking to circulate a Petition to restrict home cultivation and/or one or more types of cannabis business establishments in a precinct must use the following steps:
(1) The Legal Voter must first submit a Notice of Intent Form in person to the City Hall Office of the City Clerk, along with proof of residency in the precinct. The Notice of Intent Form can be obtained in the City Hall office of the City Clerk or downloaded on the City Clerk’s website at www.chicityclerk/cannabis.
Upon receipt of a completed Notice of Intent Form, the City Clerk will post the Notice of Intent Form online and will provide the Legal Voter with a Petition. The Legal Voter may begin circulating the Petition the day the Notice of Intent Form is posted online – but not before. The Legal Voter will have 90 calendar days to circulate the Petition.
(2) The completed Petition must be returned to City Hall. For a Petition to be valid and legally sufficient it must comply with all of the requirements listed in the Petition Guidelines that are attached to the Petition. The Petition must be completed no more than 90 days after the City Clerk posts the Notice of Intent Form.
(3) Upon the Petition's completion and return to the City Hall Office of the City Clerk, the City Clerk will post the Petition online for a 30 day comment period. During the comment period the public may submit comments regarding the Petition. Comments may be submitted in person to the City Hall Office of the City Clerk, or to clerk.cannabis@cityofchicago.org, and will be available for public inspection at the City Hall Office of the City Clerk.
During the 30-day comment period, the City Clerk will also review the submitted Petition for legal sufficiency. At the end of the 30-day comment period, the City Clerk will publicly post online its determination of whether the Petition is accepted as legally sufficient or rejected as legally insufficient. If the Petition is rejected as legally insufficient, the reasons for such rejection will also be posted online.
(4) If the City Clerk determines that the Petition is legally sufficient and valid, the City Clerk will officially notify the Alderman of the affected ward.
The Alderman may then review the Petition, along with other relevant factors about the precinct identified in the Petition, such as its geography, density and character, the prevalence of residentially zoned property, current licensed cannabis business establishments in the precinct, the current amount of home cultivation in the precinct, and the prevailing viewpoint with regard to establishing a Restricted Cannabis Zone within the precinct.
Following such review, the Alderman may introduce in City Council an Ordinance that seeks to establish a Restricted Cannabis Zone.
(5) If the Ordinance is passed, the restriction identified in the Petition will take effect on the effective date of the Ordinance.
The Office of the City Clerk operates as the facilitator of the petition process and does not support or oppose any petitions posted on its website.
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