Illinois has a brand new prime hashish regulator following an appointment from Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday. 

Pritzker introduced that Erin A. Johnson will now function the state’s Hashish Regulation Oversight Officer. Johnson replaces Danielle Perry, who left the function earlier this yr.

“Erin Johnson’s dedication to fairness will serve Illinois properly as she takes the reins because the state’s Hashish Regulation Oversight Officer,” Pritzker, a Democrat, mentioned in a press release on Monday. “From serving because the Chief of Workers on the Illinois Division of Juvenile Justice to working as Affiliate Basic Counsel and Chief Variety Officer, Erin has the expertise, schooling, and experience to thrive on this function whereas advancing hashish fairness all through Illinois. I can consider no higher particular person than Erin to function our Hashish Regulation Oversight Officer and I want her all one of the best on this new place.”

The Hashish Regulation Oversight Workplace is “part of the Illinois Division of Monetary and Skilled Regulation and is chargeable for coordinating with quite a few state companies to direct the regulation and taxation of Illinois’ hashish business,” in accordance with the governor’s workplace. 

“This work is completed to make sure Illinois’ social fairness targets are met by means of expungements, neighborhood reinvestment, and the diversification of the state’s hashish business,” mentioned the press launch from Pritzker’s workplace.

Johnson’s appointment have to be confirmed by the Illinois state Senate.

“I’m extremely grateful to Governor Pritzker for trusting me to guide the administration’s hashish regulation efforts,” Johnson mentioned in Monday’s press launch. “Collectively we are going to transfer Illinois ahead and proceed to construct a hashish business that’s pushed by social fairness, offering alternatives and righting generations of wrongs.”

Pritzker, who received re-election earlier this month, signed the invoice that legalized leisure hashish in Illinois in the summertime of 2019. Within the three years since, the governor has made the brand new adult-use marijuana program a centerpiece of his tenure.

Earlier this month, Pritzker introduced that the state was earmarking $8.75 million in loans to “all conditionally-approved social fairness mortgage candidates so as to present rapid entry to capital.”

“Fairness has all the time been on the core of our hashish legalization course of. It’s why we expunged lots of of 1000’s [of] low-level hashish costs and instituted the Hashish Social Fairness Mortgage Program. However I do know that if we wish to create a really equitable hashish business in Illinois, we should give our enterprise homeowners the sources they should develop—each figuratively and actually,” mentioned Pritzker. “That’s why we’re launching this Direct Forgivable Mortgage Program to offer a much-needed jumpstart for social fairness candidates who’ve confronted hurdles in pursuit of capital funding. This $8.75 million will assist our social fairness licensees open their doorways for enterprise—a serious step in direction of making a affluent hashish business right here in Illinois.”

The governor’s workplace defined that this system “is a first-of-its-kind program that launched in the summertime of 2021 with the purpose of offering low-interest loans to social fairness licensees by means of a partnership with lending establishments,” and that individuals in this system “have encountered important delays in receiving capital by means of monetary establishments because of the complexities of navigating a brand new business that is still unlawful beneath federal legislation, in addition to establishments’ fiduciary, regulatory duties and underwriting requirements which might be set impartial of this system.”

“The brand new Direct Forgivable Mortgage Program totally financed by the State provides funding for all eligible program individuals upon the submission of required documentation,” Pritzker’s workplace defined. “As a result of [the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity] has already acquired important documentation from program individuals, the extra documentation necessities for a direct forgivable mortgage are minimal to permit for immediate disbursal of funds. The forgivable mortgage has an 18-month grace interval with no funds or curiosity accrued to offer companies with flexibility.”

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