No Cook County Charges For Possessing Up To 30 Grams Of Marijuana

CHICAGO — The Cook County State's Attorney Office anticipates the legalization of recreational marijuana statewide, according to its new policy. As a result, the office has notified police and prosecutors that it will no longer pursue misdemeanor violations of the Cannabis Control Act and aims to begin submitting petitions next month to erase records of past convictions.

State's Attorney Kim Foxx first announced her support for marijuana legalization on Jan. 24 in her annual address to the City Club of Chicago. The top prosecutor of the nation's largest county where marijuana is prohibited also said her office would also pursue the expungement of all misdemeanor cannabis convictions in Cook County.

"In furtherance of our goals to prioritize violent crime and to develop reforms that avoid needlessly bringing people into the criminal justice system, there is no greater opportunity for us to do that than with the prosecution of marijuana," Foxx said.

In response to a public records request by Patch, Foxx's office Tuesday provided a one-page document that it said is its only written policy regarding the prosecution of misdemeanor marijuana offenses.

"State’s Attorney Foxx is committed to addressing the wrongs that were caused by the failed war on drugs and fixing the harms that disproportionately affected vulnerable, poverty-stricken communities of color," it said.

According to the document, the state's attorney's office will no longer prosecute "low-level" charges of possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana "unless special circumstances exist."

Foxx's office did not respond to queries Tuesday regarding what constitutes such "special circumstances."

Since it only cites two sections of the Cannabis Control Act —4 (a) and 4 (b) — the new policy still allows for misdemeanor marijuana charges. Neither possession of between 30 and 100 grams without a prior conviction nor possession of up to 10 grams of any substance containing cannabis with the intent to deliver or manufacture it are covered under the sections noted in the policy.

Prosecutors at the 2nd Municipal District courthouse in Skokie have continued charging people with felony cannabis possession of under 30 grams when police claim they planned on distributing it. In response to requests under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, the village of Glenview said it has no records of receiving any new policy documents, while Evanston and Skokie said they have so far been unable to locate them.

As chief county prosecutor, Foxx cannot restrict prosecutions by municipal attorneys. If a town in suburban Cook County has a local ordinance prohibiting the possession of marijuana, it may still elect to pursue a civil prosecution of those charged under the ordinance.

The state's attorney's office also announced plans to "proactively" push for pardons and expungements for anyone with misdemeanor marijuana convictions on their record.

"Individuals will not need to file a petition or appear in court to achieve this relief," according to the policy document. "This proactive conviction relief will help individuals without the resources to hire a lawyer and remove barriers to housing, employment, and education."

The office has begun compiling the list of eligible misdemeanor convictions, which is expected to total thousands of cases, according to the undated document. It said petitions for pardon and expungement will begin to be submitted by April 15.

Analysis of police records obtained by Patch last year from more than 100 suburban municipalities in Cook County — as well as the 10 largest Illinois cities — shows law enforcement agencies across the state have been in violation of existing expungement requirements in the Criminal Identification Act, which mandates the destruction of records of citations for small amounts of marijuana.

Earlier: Kim Foxx Calls For Marijuana Legalization, Expunging Convictions