7 P.M. UPDATE:

The Illinois Senate has voted 38-17 to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.



5 P.M. UPDATE:

A revised marijuana-legalization bill passed out of committee this afternoon, and the full Senate is expected to vote on the controversial and wide-ranging law later today.

The marijuana legislation is one of several controversial bills, along with sports betting and a capital-improvement bill, as the General Assembly heads toward the end of the legislative session later this week.

Legislators who have worked on marijuana legalization for more than two years have walked a tightrope, trying to address concerns ranging from law enforcement, which worried about a law too lax, to social-justice activists who worried that expungement didn't go far enough. Meanwhile, businesses worried that the law would restrict their abilities to enforce policies that would meet insurance requirements.

With various tweaks—such as eliminating a home-grown provision, allowing state's attorneys to challenge expungement of convictions for possession over 30 grams (the new limit allowed by law), and language about employees who are "on call"—they overcame most opposition.

"Six months ago, we were very opposed," said Todd Maisch, CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. "Our board, after a lot of deliberation, we aren’t excited, but we're not opposed. We believe—with the exception of one concern over random drug-testing, which will get worked out . . . these are the strongest workplace protections in the nation."

Even though it's now more than 600 pages long, the bill doesn't address every concern. "We will be working with the sponsors on a trailer bill to address some issues that always need to be cleaned up in complex legislation like this," Pamela Althoff, executive director of the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois, which represents cannabis companies, said in a statement. “We have worked closely with these bills’ sponsors to address the social justice, economic and health components. We believe (the bill) provides a good framework to responsibly bring adult use of cannabis to Illinois."

Among the changes in the bill are some minor revisions in how the money will be used. Under the original legislation, 20 percent of the revenue remaining after administrative expenses would go to local health departments for substance-abuse treatment and mental health treatment. That's been expanded to include assorted programs undertaken by state, local and federal governments.

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