SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday issued pardons for more than 11,000 low-level marijuana convictions.
The move came on the eve of cannabis becoming a legal, commercial product under Illinois law.
“These 11,017 misdemeanor convictions represent individuals who’ve carried around with them a stain on their records for possessing less than 30 grams of cannabis,” Pritzker said.
The governor made the announcement at Trinity United Church in Chicago, where Senior Pastor Otis Moss III called mass incarceration the main civil rights issue of the 21st century.
Moss said Jesus would have understood what’s at stake: “Jesus was someone who lived in occupied territory, and understood what it meant to be stopped and frisked, and what happens when you have a really bad public defender.
“Jesus understood what it means to be executed as a result of a state execution,” Moss said. “So I have no idea how anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ could be against this type of policy.”
Pritzker said the main purpose of Illinois’ marijuana legalization is not to make cannabis widely available, but to “maximize equity,” which includes addressing past wrongs in the so-called war on drugs.
To that end, the administration says the Illinois State Police has identified more than 150,000 convictions — on top of more than 500,000 arrest records — that could be eligible for pardons or expungement.
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