The Cole Memo

In what may be my most pointed episode to date, I sit down with Illinois Representative Carol Ammons to discuss how cannabis continues to be criminalized in the state of Illinois. It’s worth noting that Representative Ammons foresaw this outcome nearly five years ago when she voiced concerns about the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act of 2019 (CRTA) and abstained from voting on the measure. Reflecting on the passage of time, I ask why meaningful reform in cannabis policy continues to elude the citizens of Illinois.

Carol Ammons is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 103rd district since January 2015. The 103rd district includes all or parts of Champaign, Urbana, and Staley.

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Links mentioned during show

• Chicago Tribune article – https://www.chicagotribune.com/2019/02/08/first-bill-emerges-this-year-to-legalize-marijuana-in-illinois-would-allow-up-to-24-plants-at-home/  

The auto-generated transcript is available below.

[Music] if you’ve been tuning in over the years you’re likely well aware of my consistent stance on the ongoing criminalization of cannabis some have even labeled this show as actively opposing the state’s approach to taxing and regulating cannabis I faced criticism and questions like why aren’t you satisfied with the ability to purchase cannabis at The Limited number of state approved dispensaries even if it comes at a steep price well therein lies the Crux of this issue many people will say that the Illinois cannabis regulation and Tax Act of 2019 often abbreviated as the crta legalized cannabis in Illinois if you’re watching the video version of this podcast I’m saying that with air quotes because of the fact that the narrow scope of the crta left most of the existing criminal penalties which were originally established in the Cannabis Control Act of 1978 entirely untouched today these laws continue to be wielded against individuals for possessing and cultivating cannabis realize this the continued criminalization of cannabis continues in Illinois as a direct result of the shortcomings of the crta I know of at least one figure in the media that has tried to twist these words incorrectly this is not only irresponsible and dangerous it is false it’s crucial to recognize that the ongoing criminalization persists in Illinois precisely due to the inadequacies of the crta because the scope of this measure was so limited if you find yourself just slightly outside of the scope you will find yourself in massive legal Peril on top of that to quote defense attorney Evan Bruno quote a minor violation of the new law carries a harsher penalty than a minor violation of the Old Law end quote you can read more from defense attorney Evan Bruno I’m linking their article which I just referenced from the Illinois State Bar Association it is entitled quote the UN The Unfinished work of cannabis reform in Illinois end quote I’m going to be a little bit more blunt here people that perpetuate anything but this truth should be ashamed of thems if you’re standing up for the Cannabis regulation and tax act as it stands today you are part of the problem the Cannabis regulation and Tax Act of 2019 is not a piece of meaningful reform because it fails to recognize cannabis use cultivation and possession need not be a criminal issue entirely anything less than a complete end to these policies is not good enough this is the coal memo I’m your host Cole Preston every episode is released in audio video and transcript formats to find the transcript audio or video version of any episode please refer to the description of the episode that you’re listening to now within that description you can find a link that will take you to our website which will display the transcript for this episode and the platforms where you can find find this episode in audio or video formats if you’re unable to locate the episode description on whichever platform you’re listening from Simply note the 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contribution of your choice that’s right you could donate a dollar once or you could dat donate a dollar monthly that’d be $12 a year or you could donate a dollar a year whatever you choose every little bit helps if you’re not able to support us financially that is okay one of the best ways to support our show is free subscribe to or follow our show leave us a positive positive review from wherever you’re listening to us from favorite this episode give it a thumbs up leave a comment or post a review your engagement and support is appreciated today is February 23rd 2024 and I’m so thrilled to introduce Our Guest representative Carol Ammons who shares my outspoken criticism of the CTA representative Ammons passionately testified against the ACT she shed life on its deficiencies well before its implementation for those who haven’t had the opportunity to witness that speech stay tuned following our discussion I plan to reair her compelling speech enjoy the [Music] episode representative Ammons I just want to thank you so much for sitting down with me today as I told you before we went on air you truly are one of my heroes in the in the context of cannabis and our discussion will reveal why that is before we get into that uh can you just introduce yourself to my audience tell us who you are sure thank you for having me on the co memo I really love the ti of your show was really cool um um I am Carol Ammon I am the representative of the 103rd legislative district in Illinois uh I have been in office for 10 years this is my literally my 10th year is we’re closing out with this session is my 10th year in service uh I am up for another two years in the next term I don’t currently have an opponent um and so I’m looking forward to some of the restorative justice work that we can do um in the Illinois general assembly and I’m doing some work that probably is outside if you will uh some of the standard work that people are customary to getting out of legislative body so we can talk about some of that if that’s of interest to you um but I’m happy to be here on the co memo yeah thank you representative an Ammons and like I said I think this will springboard us right into our conversation I I think you’ll really like the words that I use uh in this question it’s been four years since Illinois enacted legislation to decriminalize small ounts of cannabis and establish a framework for its Taxation and regulation many people call this legalization but I don’t um because I don’t think it’s legal if you can still get arrested for it um now that some time has passed it’s been four years what are your impact what are your thoughts on the impacts of this measure yeah I I also agree with you that um I argued in uh I don’t know if you know this but I introduced alongside uh some of the other legislative initiatives House Bill 902 back way back when um when we began talking about this because I believed in a couple of things that should have been inherent in them once you say that this is legal and I’ve learned this from some really great friends out of Connecticut who were way ahead of Illinois on these questions right but once you uh say something is legal like alcohol is legal yes you can be arrested if you are driving Under the Influence but for no other reason can you be arrested for alcohol right and I saw cannabis in the same way now I don’t have a long personal history with cannabis myself uh I never smoked I didn’t smoke or drink at at all and so um that’s not something that I have personally experienced but what I witnessed was the criminality that was using cannabis to identify certain communities and to use the justice system against them because of cannabis and so I thought that when we pass legislative measures we would legalize completely which we have not done and we’ve seen people continuously be charged with um having too many plants in their basement we had a a case in ranol Illinois just north of champagne Urbana a woman was caught growing more than the allowable amount without a license from the medical industry all of this is is capitalist at its best that’s what it is because the reality is if you say this thing is legal if I can grow six broccoli plants and nobody come and arrest me for it why can’t I grow six broccoli I mean marijuana plants in my backyard why would I be arrested for that except that the Cannabis industry that is driven by capitalist right are able to make it illegal for me to do what I’m doing so that they can Corner the market that’s all it is and we’ve seen seen this o over and over and over again in so many ways that I have been a a staunch in staunch opposition to any cannabis legislative initiative that does not go back and fix the original problems and that is why you’re my hero thank you so I just want to peel the page back as you said um on January 25th which was well before the Cannabis regulation and Tax Act was January 25th of 2019 uh was you the medical yeah and it’s when you actually introduced your measure to uh legalize cannabis which I argue would have actually done that residents would have been able to grow up to 24 plants um you know I didn’t get the impression that you would have license limitations or really continued criminalization of cannabis but even at the time uh the Tribune even said the measure is unlikely to pass because lawmakers are expected to act on a more restrictive proposal that’s been in the works for more than a year um that is correct I’m just curious why do you think your bill didn’t get widespread support given the fact that it is a better bill it’s more Progressive it actually yeah addresses the root problem I mean the industry didn’t write it that’s why I mean those who have been working on the Cannabis and we had many um public hearings around the state that that sold the current legis the initial uh bill as if that bill was going to bring equity and Justice they called it a uh a reparations measure which I completely oppose that concept they said that it was going to bring um M uh multiple millionaires into the black community it did not it was going to bring opportunities and jobs to black people in this great new industry indry which it did not and even currently there is no measure to track the Equitable hiring practices in the industry so I stop in I’ll go around the country and if I’m traveling I’ll stop into cannabis facilities all around I visited one in Missouri that’s owned by a black woman and she said to me and and literally she gave me the Insight I said I don’t understand why this is happening why you’re struggling to make money when I’m watching all of these other industry Folk and they have two or three facilities they’ve opened since we’ve legalized in Illinois and she said the um cost of the application the square footage that was required in order for you to have a medical or medicinal facility it was designed to exclude certain communities because everyone knows income inequality is a real thing and so if you want to start a business and you don’t have Capital to invest in your own business and the banks don’t loan it to you right black folks don’t get bank loans at the same rate of their white counterparts then how am I going to open up a 50,000 square foot medicinal facility to put me at the front of the line when recreational licenses come into effect they knew that from the very beginning that this was going to exclude certain communities and I attempted to highlight that all the way to the final vote that took place on the first bill I tried to highlight it up into the final vote was taken telling people not to vote for it because it is not going to create what the hyperbowl is being designed around it the propaganda and they refused to hear and now here we are in 2024 trying to still correct what we knew and was warned about from the low interest interest loan Fiasco that they did to the uh licenses of equity holders to the transporter license that was designed specifically to make sure that even if you got a transporter’s license oh the industry can transport their own stuff from their Farm to The Dispensary so how you gonna get business all of this was really kind of common sense but if you go back in history I did do this when they proposed this I looked at the Gold Rush and the Homestead Act and I went back to those pieces of legislation because they created the greatest transfer of wealth to White hands that existed in the 1800s and when you look at the Homestead Act they wrote eligibility in a similar fashion you needed 13 $16 ultimately to benefit from the Homestead Act in 1880 what 1864 so how many black people in 1864 who are enslaved until 1865 1866 are going to benefit from the homestead act so we did the exact same thing in policy in the 1800s that we did with cannabis in the 2000s yeah and I got to give you credit uh I will play it again honestly it makes me cry to watch it I watched it again this morning your speech that you gave after the vote was passed and after you weren’t able to speak on the bill um right and I loved you called you said I call on my colleagues to look at this issue as a justice justice issue and not a revenue one yeah this is the moment where we saw the great the Rush of our era right the War on Drugs has devastated black communities across this nation and put us into what we considered a permanent underclass position and so here we come with this industry that black people have been in whether we like it or not illegally for Generations because there’s no way there’s no economy in the black community and so the only economy that comes to the black community are these kind of exploitative things like crack cocaine and cannabis this is what we have to sell as a commercial product because you’re locked out of all other Industries right and so when you look at the the transfer of wealth in the drug industry it is not in the hands of black people we’re still being arrested for it but we it’s not in the hands of black people who were overwhelmingly sent to the penitentiaries across this nation as a result of possession of the very that you’re selling by the tons today in the hands of the white majority right and if I could distill it it’s it’s as if we uh issued a limited number of golden tickets and we’re saying hey this is going to uh repair the harms that have been caused on the war on drugs and I think you and I are both arguing that maybe to repair the harms of the War on Drugs we end the war on drugs how about that you know how about just ending it right the process has been so convoluted you know I remember the day that the um medicinal holders received their unabated access to the recreational Market I remember the day in Illinois where they were running around visiting dispensaries and clapping their hands about how great it is Illinois is going to lead on Equity I mean these are things that you can look up into any newspaper of the time and you’ll see how we we lauded this great thing that Illinois has done to bring equity and Justice and you know what I don’t call a piece of the taxes for nonprofit organizations’s equity and Justice I do not call that equity and Justice so because you took some of the tax money and you created what we call in Illinois the R3 program and if you look deeply called and I encourage you to do it to look deeply into the dispute the the dispersion of the dollars the distribution of those dollars that come out of the R3 program look very deeply into the organizations who receive the majority of those dollars you would also see a very similar pattern that the nonprofit industry comes in big industries that are supposed to serve the black community receives the Lion Share of even those dollars and guess what the black community still looks the same today as it did in 2021 and it hasn’t change the number of black people being arrested and stopped for the War on Drugs at all yeah and you know the Sinister thing about this the the R3 money and taxes that my friend always points out that I never really thought about is it’s really ironic when you consider those taxes are coming from Cannabis users so not only are the people right right right it’s coming from who go to the dispensaries Right Bingo but to your point to your point um as evidenced by researched by James Schwartz PhD at the Jame Adams College of social work at the University of Illinois in Chicago arrests persist they continue predominantly in areas without cannabis dispensaries coincidentally these areas have always historically shouldered the brunt of these enduring policies I mean you you can go to Chicago and see this happening constantly but not where the dispensers dispensaries are you know I’m at the University of Illinois Community Urbana champagne when I first came here I you know I was doing some organizing work and I’m an activist um that’s just what I am and so uh we were doing some traffic stop data in in Urbana champagne Urbana champagne is notorious for stopping Black drivers and it doesn’t matter if you are actually from this community are passing through this community you have a higher propensity than white drivers to be stopped in Urbana Champaign so I said God why would why would that be you know if you’re looking for drugs now report comes out a few years later that there’s more obviously we got a Urbana champagne campus there’s more drug users on the campus than there are in the general community so why is the general Community the ones with the burden in the tra traff court right higher than that of the campus where all the young people are and you know darn well every Friday Saturday and Sunday right we just had someone over literally have an alcohol overdose and died in the cold underage too underage on the campus of the U ofi no so now why is it that the numbers in the traffic court the visual view of traffic court is predominantly African-American drivers when the majority Community is predominantly white and you know darn well majority of that is on the campus of the University of Illinois yeah but their numbers do not compare in traffic stops where you are looking for drugs right those are pretextual stops looking for paraphernalia drugs traffic tickets that you make not have a driver’s license these kind of things are targeted and we know they’re targeted but we still continue to pretend as if they are not targeting these communities so I’ve got an interesting thought for you to that point um Aaron Johnson our cannabis regulation oversight officer I recently joined a discussion with her and she recounted hearing discussions at a conference about cannabis operators in Michigan facing receivership AKA going out of business and enduring significant price compression AKA prices are falling due to their regulatory framework Aaron mentioned mentioned that her office works every day to ensure that these types of things do not occur in Illinois she made it clear that she felt Illinois’s limited license approach is the key factor preventing such challenges from arising in the state so it sounds like two metrics of success they have is keeping people from going out of business which by the way I just reported last night one of the first social Equity infusers went out of business um also which was that uh I can’t remember the name but something if you come up with it I’d like to know because I know there’s only a handful of them yes um so uh but the other thing they want to prevent is price compression I’m curious what you think about this idea uh representative Ammons if those are part of their metric metrics for Success maybe stopping arrests should also be part of a metric for success in legalization I I don’t think that that was the uh focal point even though part of the Cannabis legislation was to clear the records of thousands of people who had cannabis arrest on their records that part of it still hasn’t been finished right but and it can’t ever be finished because you’re still arresting people for cannabis right so does right so if on one hand you say the equity part is I’m G to clear the records of thousands of people who have cannabis on their records but you’re still arresting people and putting cannabis on their records yeah I mean I just had one person that at to your point they got arrested for possession of cannabis even though they had a medical card and their lawyer told them to plea guilty and and that the law was so flexible that just plea guilty we’ll go through the process and then we’ll expunge your record so it’s like okay so that so we have to send people through the system just to get them expunged it’s it’s crazy it’s a really crazy process which I thought in my build if you recall we had automatic expungement yes meaning you don’t have to do anything and we’re not GNA arrest anybody for it I believe that we should allow people to grow as many plants as they can manage is not easy growing plants as we know this is not an easy thing to do but if you so choose to grow plants you should be able to grow as many as you are capable of growing why would we limit that why are you forcing everyone to these high price dispensaries so that we can pay this high price tax so that we can generate Revenue to give back to the same companies that we’re already giving grants to in the state of Illinois for other things right so there’s no there’s no real um effort to stop charging people period and arresting them to allow people to have the freedom of expression when it comes to a plant this is a plant and they should have freedom of expression if they want to grow it they should be able to do that and this concept of keeping the licenses constricted that’s the part that reminds me of a earlier period of time the go Rush right the H Homestead Act Right these these constrictions that the government is going to control who can get in and who cannot get in that’s part and parcel to the reason why you have already seen social Equity people going out of business and I will tell you this that there’s a a a gentleman who I know in the South Suburban area of Chicago I think he’s in Chicago Heights so I go out he invite me to come and see this big strip mall the strip mall has been closed for decades in this community so low-income community so he purchases the strip mall so that he can open up these three vestages of a cannabis related businesses right infusing and growing and whatever so he does that I go and visit his facility this is two years ago let me tell you that I recently go and visit a black farmer in this nearby area I go past this facility and this facility is still closed it is not open he has not been able to realize the benefits that the white large companies got when they can put $5,000 in for 10 applications and get 15 licenses out of the deal I’m exaggerating of course you know that but the reality is is those social Equity people had to stand up on the same platform that the advantaged medicinal people had and no competition was in their Arena you see that so if you think restricting the licenses Department of a is the way for you to bring Justice and social justice into the space I totally disagree that’s not going to bring it and what I argued for actually the medicinal people had a two-year Head Start right when we came along with this new license for recreational what I argued for at that time was that since they already cornered the medicinal space we’re going to give these recreational social Equity people a year advantage to build their businesses we’re going to give them the low interest see this is where I’m going with it so I’m saying give them the advantage that you gave to these medicinal people for two years we didn’t do that so if you think that you’re gonna ever stand up you’re gonna be fighting this when I’m not a legislator they gonna still be fighting to get into this cannabis industry in all kind of backd door ways and we’re gonna be passing legislation from here to eternity because what they have done is locked people completely out by policy yeah yeah and like you say that is happened in other states what you’re referring to is sometimes called first mover advantage and they tried to prevent that from happening in New York and just like what you just described uh that happened in New York uh and I did share this with my colleagues in New York before they even got to that point we had already seen the flaws of our system even though we hell it uh you know you asked the the people who pass it they think is well we just got to keep tweaking it you know I don’t believe in that I believe that the floor has been set and once you set the floor of who can and who cannot participate it is very difficult for people to come in unless you Snoop Dogg right out in California or who are some of the other some of the other big rappers who said oh I I got enough money to get in this right yeah Jay-Z them that’s what you did you set it for the is class at the top and you’re going to have us try to get in in community at the bottom at the same rate that the billionaires are getting in at the top you I mean yeah I I never thought that was a good strategy yeah so I want to be mindful of our time um why do you think people like you and I actually have seen another I don’t know if you know this representative or if you’re close to them but representative flowers is another one that has submitted similar legislation that I call meaningful reform uh it’s actually meaningful uh why do you think you’re alone in supporting meaningful reform oh Cole let’s see why am I alone me and Mary flowers are two of the only ones who voted against this some of my colleagues regret it to this day and have shared with me personally that they regret voting for the original bill um you know we’re alone because just like any other um commodity in the capitalist system unless you deal with campaign Finance you’re gonna be alone I mean I know intimately how this game is played and whoever pays plays I I I totally understand how this works so you you’ll you’ll look and say oh you know these people don’t really support her campaign no because I don’t ask them to there is a real fundamental problem in every state in this Union and it is called campaign finance and unless we deal with campaign Finance people believe that they elected me and sent me to represent their interest from our community right but in many many cases the people who are in Springfield are lobbyists and they represent the interest of the Cannabis industry I recall talking to the first EX executive director and I’m not going to name her I C called her one day and she was the first executive director of the Cannabis Association and that cannabis Association is 100% white okay this is the first one that Association I call her she’s a former member of the Senate and I say to her listen I need your Association to take a position on the social Equity Port this is problematic right you’re not going to get the diversity in the industry without the big guys saying yes we’re going to make space they would not take that position and every single bill that has come out since that time from my colleague Ford I love him to death his bill was supposed to do what they said I’mma read it to you because it was so profound to me it says this bill 1443 if you remember House Bill 1443 it granted 10 new cannabis licenses that’s going to be awarded through two lotteries which I oppose Lottery targeted toward black Hispanic and other minority residents of disproportionately impacted areas as part of the qualifying criteria one of the lotteries would prioritize those previously arrested and convicted of previous cannabis offenses Cole have you seen 110 new social Equity people pop up in Illinois anywhere I have not either have you seen a real push where he says in this legislation it is going to prioritize those previously arrested and convicted of previous cannabis related offenses have you seen that in mass in your reporting that Illinois has cleared all of these people’s records has prioritized them and guess what we’re still creating new ones that we need to prioritize I haven’t seen it so I am not of the opinion that this any of these bills as long as the foundation has been set to literally protect this industry that is controlled by 99% white males as long as that is the case none of these other priorities become a real priority that’s just the bottom line if we had started with social Equity owners from the beginning of recreational this l landscape would look very different but we did not and as long as we did not we will still continue to pass laws and you’ll see new ones prop up this session that’s supposed to clean up the state’s cannabis legalization law by expanding diversity on the state’s restore reinvest and renew oversight boards see all of these things are connected and as long as there’s an opportunity for the majority to rece receive the Lion Share of the capital that is how it will work well representative Ammons um I’ve really enjoyed my time with you today and I’ve I’ve got one last question before uh we close and and you know I’m just curious what you think about this this is my real worry with all this and I’m sure you share the same concern I’m going to share a comic because this helps for a lot of people to visualize things uh this comic is by box Brown he does a weekly cannabis comic and it’s great and he says one of my concerns is for losing momentum for legalization the Netherlands has a small hobbled together cannabis Market riddled with major problems and it points to a person on a bike that says illegally transporting weed from illegal grow to Legal shop but they’ve lost the political will to fix it the average person sees the Cannabis issue as over with an estimate of 350,000 weat arrests in the United States and the precipi and being at the precipice of a national corporate oligopoly we cannot lose the energy to legalize what do you think if I I know that’s a big question to end on but what do you think the answer is to the apathy you know I I I have encouraged those who are in the social Equity space these the smaller um black vendors and Latino vendors that I meet with you know on a regular basis when they uh reach out to us I have encouraged them to not lose the point here of legalization right it was supposed to provide an Open Door a fair access point to entrepreneurs and business people to become legal so to get rid of the illegal market and bring an opportunity to people to be legal on the on the state level National level whatever that has not happened and what I have seen in similar to the comic strip is that some of these folks in these um smaller groups who are trying to push for more Equitable legislative measure I think they have lost their momentum I feel that they have lost their momentum because every bill that has come out as long as that bill does not allow them unfettered access to a market that you’ve given unfettered access to White majorities unless you create that parity you’re G to always be fighting to get into an industry where you are uh unfortunately outmanned and outgunned because you don’t have the lawyers and you don’t have the revenue to challenge these Big Industry Giants that have taken over the market that’s my concern as well I don’t see the push from the Grassroots that was there to provide this opening the Grassroots did this but the corporat came in and took it and the policy makers allowed it so the Grassroots found it and and for Generations have been saying cannabis should not be illegal since the 1920s so the Grassroots built it and then the capital is oligarchs came and took it with their paid for elected officials that’s how this works and I am concerned that what we see going forward which is why I have not voted yes on a cannabis bill what we have seen going forward is that they have allowed continuously for them to maintain what they have without having to open it up to the rest of us it’s a shame well uh representative Ammons before we go did you have a good time today I had a wonderful time thank you so much for your patience with us trying to get this organized but I hope that we uh could touch bases again uh by the end of session I’m sure there will be many things that are being asked for in the Cannabis space that we’ll have much more to talk about yes I would love that I would absolutely love that well folks make it happen I hope you found as much value in this conversation as I did we’ll see you on the next episode of the Cole memo take care peace [Music] the Illinois General Assembly voted to send the Cannabis regulation and Tax Act to Governor JB pritzker’s desk on May 31st 2019 directly after the vote representative Carol Ammons gave a speech where she explained why she could not vote for this bill for do you seek recognition thank you Mr Speaker please receive representative it is with great disappointment that I stand in this chamber being denied the right to speak to the devastation that has impacted our community for Generations I grew up in the city of Joliet where Stateville prison is located and have watched generations of black men be locked up for the possession of drugs in this country I listened to my colleague tetti lay out very clearly the intentional destruction of black communities across this country but specifically in the state of Illinois and I stand here today having been denied the right to speak on the most important legislation that will impact our communities in my lifetime and I am offended by that denial our community has suffered Untold harm and many devastations that we cannot just wipe over because we need Revenue in the state of Illinois I agree with my colleagues on the right and the left that this legislation will have unintended consequences will those consequences remedy the 40 to 50 years of drug Devastation that has destroyed the communities of East St Louis Dan Joliet the South and West sides of Chicago for Generations we have had to wait for our emancipation for Generations we’ve been denied access to jobs and Education and Training and opportunity for Generations our children have looked at us as if we have not done our due diligence and today the very denial of my right to stand before this body and express the harm and Devastation that we’ve experienced this law will not legalize drugs for our communities this legislation will still see Devastation on the behalf of those who are stopped by the police as result we are calling for international declaration for the renewal of people of African descent in this state from this day forward we deserve justice and access to Justice in every single way we are calling on this Governor to make sure that he not only enforces equality and justice as it pertains to this legislation but everything that goes forward it is not good enough that we simply expunge records for those of lowlevel marij want a possession that is not good enough that young black men and women have to walk around and and be saddled be saddled with the results of this legislation going forth we know that the people who are going to benefit from this are already benefiting they’re already benefiting economically we know that black communities from the top to the bottom of this state are struggling economically and this does nothing to solve that problem and so I call on my colleagues to look at this issue as a justice issue and not a revenue one we understand that the state is strapped for cash but it is certainly not because black communities have stolen those dollars we have been denied equal justice under the law and we have been stopped at three to four times higher rates than any other community and we call on Justice today for our communities and this measure must be looked at as simply a beginning and not an end we will not stop fighting for our communities from this day forward and we call on the Democratic party of Illinois to stand with us to bring Justice and equality to our communities in every single area of life I refuse to vote on a bill that would not allow me to speak to it and I hope that people of Illinois will do better for the communities who are suffering do not make them victims do not make them victims of our legislation I want to acknowledge the profound need for justice for us the untold suffering and evils that our people have suffered in this country From Slavery to emancipation to post Jim Crow era to drug laws and to the drug war we have suffered and we demand better from this institution I hope that we are not doing the wrong thing by our community I thank my colleague representative Patty for putting on record the true reality of how we’ve gotten to this point and I thank him for being a voice for us I thank all of my new members who stood on this issue I do appreciate all the work that has been done to get us to this point but I don’t believe we’ve done all that we can do to bring about Justice and Equity thank you so much Mr Speaker for allowing me to speak today and thank you so much for all that you do thank you about:blank