Illinois expressly grants “bonus points” to racial minority-owned applicants for cannabis dispensaries. It’s right there in the application and in the state’s rules. Note that the racial preference is separate and additional to other qualifying criteria, such as previous drug convictions, poverty and the like.
But the U.S. Supreme Court last month all but banned racial preferences by government as violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
Illinois on Thursday named 55 winners of a social equity lottery for conditional marijuana store licenses Thursday. How many of them benefitted from the bonus points for racial minority ownership is not yet known.
If any winning applications are attributable to racial preference, isn’t that now a violation of the Equal Protection Clause? I see no reason why it would not be. While last month’s ruling by the Supreme Court was on the subject of college admissions, it was based on Equal Protection grounds, which clearly applies to all governmental action.
-Mark Glennon
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
One gram of concentrate in Illinois, $130 with tax. One gram concentrates in Oklahoma, $5 with tax.
Democrats don’t care what the Supreme Court decides. They do exactly what they want and ignore it. Biden is skirting around the court, trying to forgive student loans, going about it another way. It’s rules for thee and not for me. We’re doing nothing to stop him. DEMOCRATS DON’T FOLLOW THE SAME LAWS WE DO. That is Socialism they are focing on us and we aren’t doing anything to stop it. Where’s a GOOD Republican when you need one?
Surprise! Illinois, and the US, grant “ bonus points “ for being non- white in many ways.
Did the SC ruling also end any present or future plans for reparations racket payouts?
Reparations would not have a snowball’s chance of holding up if they were ever challenged in court. That was probably true even before the Court’s new ruling.
Let the lawyer feasting begin!!— for decades they won big bucks litigating all the minority set-aside laws now they can revers direction and win big bucks fighting them
Real wealth is diminishing in the western world our “wealth” is financialized, not based on real wealth like industrial capacity, making stuff, resources. So its kind of sad that in the US we have stooped so low as to the government handing out pot stores as wealth. Sure pot is produced, its real wealth, not fiat money… but its also harmful to society. The financial industry only “produces” debt as a commodity to sell, so pot growers at least have them morally beat. Its all so sad. This country should be competing over who gets contracts to make components for… Read more »
A stoned, stupid, docile populace is an easily governed populace.
That’s why the Russians were the biggest boozers per capita — even under communism.
And *especially* under communism… whole books have been written about this. Many workers were drunk on the job or hungover, thus contributing to an already lousy manufacturing sector. Vodka shots were common in management staff meetings, and in fact everywhere; many Aeroflot airliner accidents caused by drunk pilots. Every morning in the cities, cops would go up and round up the drunks laying around and take them to “sobriety clinics” to dry out. When Gorby came to power in ’85, his first major move was to ban the sale of vodka, and enforce sobriety in the workplace – which natcherly… Read more »
Yes, a stoned and drunk society are easily manipulated and controlled by the ruling class. Those in power want reliance on government to grow exponentially. I am afraid that this cancer is within both political parties. Societies on the rise and have no tolerance for this garbage are primed to be the next global super powers. While Mark Miley is teaching DEI and Trans Rights the Chinese are next up in the batters circle. We have been sold out from within.
Several thumbs up for your post. Absolutely correct! That is one of the big reasons that producing a product in the US for the US market is absolutely essential if we are to ever to return as a prosperous nation. This includes energy, manufacturing, and tariffs on foreign steel, etc. We were well on the way until this vegetable and his henchmen stole the entire thing!!! Look at what the last 3 years have been like? It’s like something out of the Twilight Zone. Selling weed on every street corner is a vice related business which does nothing to incentivize… Read more »
They were always illegal. We finally had the court say what we all knew to be true.
So is an unbalanced budget pal. Everyone knows it. Even you.
No it’s not pal. I’ve directed you to the constitution multiple times. There is no requirement for a “balanced” budget as most people interpret it. Maybe you should work from Oklahoma to get one passed in Illinois. As I’ve stated many times and you continue to ignore it because it doesn’t correspond with your preconceived beliefs. The governor is responsible for presenting a budget. Proposed budget shall not exceed estimated funds available. It doesn’t specify that funds available have to be from tax revenue instead of borrowing. Nothing in the budget rules require pensions to be funded before the amount… Read more »
Will the Republicans step up and take court action if the State continues with its racial preference program?
(My laugh of the day post)
To get standing, I think you’d probably need it to be a losing bidder who lost to somebody who got the extra points.
Yes they sure are illegal now. And how about the contract set asides for construction, professional services, investment banking, security, and on and on. All should be out the window now. But we all know it will take years and years of litigation to get rid of these affirmative action business scams.
But surely our ace Attorney General, Kwame Raoul, will take the lead bringing the state into compliance, right?
Raoul too busy covering for his buddy Pritzger, helping him and Soros influence out of state elections, influencing the acceptance of trans people competing in college sports in Indiana and compiling the all important “ dangerous toys “ list around Yuletide.
Of course Kwame will, with full support by Merrick Garland and the power of the DOJ.
Just ask Leyrnne West from the above comments.
I’m sure ‘Hedley Lamarr & Gov. LePetomaine’ will get right on it…
A lawsuit over Evanston’s reparations racket, or Chicago’s fraud ridden minority contracting set-asides, would be a great test case.
The democrats don’t care about legal or not. Just another example of them thumbing their noses at recent Supreme Court rulings. No racial preferences, don’t care we will do it anyway. No forgiveness of student loans, biden crowd says we don’t we will do it anyway. The only way to make it sting for those who intentionally violate court rulings is to make them pay, personally, out of their pocket, lots and lots of money. All involved in ignoring USSC rulings, make them pay.