State Lawmakers In Champaign-Urbana Seeking Public Input About Legalizing Weed In Illinois

Senator Scott Bennett and Representative Carol Ammons will host a town hall on marijuana legalization on Feb. 18, 2019.

The event begins at 6 p.m. at the Illinois Terminal in Champaign.

The Democratic state lawmakers from Champaign-Urbana will explain legislation that's in the works to tax and regulate marijuana in Illinois and open the floor to questions from constituents.

Bennett said he’s seeking input on several proposals in the works to legalize marijuana in Illinois.

“What I'm hoping is we get a lot of feedback from the community, that we hear from people that either say that they don't support it and they give us reasons that we need to take back to Springfield, or that they do support it and let us know what direction they want to see our votes in the future,” he said.

Ammons recently introduced a bill that would allow people to grow up to 24 plants at home and include special provisions for minority business owners and communities. Bennett said he hasn’t reviewed Ammons’ proposal but he looks forward to learning more about it from her at Monday’s event.

“This is a chance for people to have real input on pending legislation," Bennet said. “So if people come and say well, I'm concerned about marijuana around children, I'm concerned about it with people driving vehicles, I'm concerned about those things, too.”

Bennett said he supports a bill sponsored by State Senator Heather Steans of Chicago to legalize and tax recreational marijuana, but he said he wants to make sure some of the revenue gets set aside for public education about responsible use, in order to better protect the public.

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