City Council Committee Rolls Up Emanuel Pot Plan, Sends To Full Council

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 21, 2012 7:20PM

The ordinance backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel that would decriminalize small marijuana busts [although Emanuel isn't using the word "decriminalization;" he says it's "dealing with (marijuana possession) in a different way"] passed another hurdle Thursday when the City Council Committee on Public Safety voted 13 to 1 in favor of the ordinance, sending the measure to a full City Council vote next week. That doesn't mean you should start buying scales yet, folks, even though we now know 13 aldermen think the ordinance is a good idea.

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy testified before the committee and assured them that anyone caught "openly smoking" pot or caught in possession of it on Park District property or the grounds of a school, would be arrested. Emanuel made earlier concessions to the ordinance that would make people under the age of 17 and people without proper identification ineligible for a pot ticket.

The tickets, which would be written whens someone is caught holding 10 grams of pot or less would receive a ticket ranging from $200-$500, has little political downside to Emanuel, but he still promised that some of the potential revenue would be earmarked to anti-drug campaigns for children. Chicago Magazine's Whet Moser detailed three reasons why the measure will likely pass Wednesday, the revenue the tickets would generate being foremost among them.

And it is likely to pass when the City Council votes on it next week. While politicians like Ald. Ed Burke (14th) and even McCarthy have expressed skepticism with the measure, the Tribune noted that most aldermen were in favor of it. All Emanuel needs is 26 votes, and we can assume the 13 on the Public Safety Committee who voted in favor of it today won't change their votes in seven days.