? Below: Restrictions on nearly every intoxicating hemp product take effect Thursday in Illinois. We look into how we got here and what it means for local businesses.
?️ Plus: Mayor Brandon Johnson upends his gunshot-detection approach, an unlikely sumo wrestling debut and more news you need to know below.
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Highs and lows: Restrictions on nearly every intoxicating hemp product take effect Thursday in Illinois as part of a wide-ranging bill signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in June that overhauls cannabis and hemp regulations. Under Illinois' new rules, hemp-derived THC products over the 0.4 milligrams federal potency threshold must be sold only at state-licensed cannabis dispensaries and be taxed the same as cannabis products.
License required: Licenses will be required for any business or person handling, processing and extracting hemp in Illinois, as well as manufacturing any product with hemp-extracted cannabinoids or any hemp-derived product, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Manufacturing licenses will be issued after applications and on-site inspections are completed and a $5,000 fee is paid.
Local loss: Marz Community Brewing Co. recovered from the post-pandemic downturn with the help of hemp-derived THC beverages, which account for nearly half of its production. Marz founder Ed Marszewski expects the ban to bring layoffs, saying there's no marketplace for hemp-infused beverages at dispensaries that primarily sell high-potency flower, pre-rolls, vapes and edibles.
What voters want: The 72% support in an advisory referendum for bringing gunshot-detection technology back to the streets of Chicago has apparently prompted Mayor Brandon Johnson to change his crime-fighting strategy. Chief Procurement Officer Sharla Roberts disclosed the surprise about-face Monday while on the hot seat at a City Council budget hearing.
Bidders' showcase: Roberts said her office initially planned a pilot program with one vendor that wasn't involved in a lengthy, competitive bidding process for a gunshot-detection contract. But the Johnson administration has now decided to let all of the "short-listed" bidders showcase their violence prevention strategies in the pilot, Roberts said.
Key context: It has been three years since Johnson honored a campaign promise to progressive supporters by canceling the city’s contract with ShotSpotter, which he derisively called a "walkie-talkie on a stick."
Reporting for duty: Newly elected members of the Illinois congressional delegation on Sunday began a two-week "freshman" orientation in Washington — just days after Democrats swept races across the country in a repudiation of Trump administration policies.
Five freshmen: The state will see five new faces in Congress next year after a series of retirements created a seismic shift in Illinois politics. Senator-elect Juliana Stratton arrived in Washington on Monday for a two-day Senate orientation after winning the open race to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin.
Group chatter: There is a group chat for the five incoming members of the House: Daniel Biss, Patty Garcia, Melissa Bean, Donna Miller and La Shawn Ford. Bean, who won the 8th Congressional District after Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi opted to run for the Senate seat, is not a new face in Congress. She previously represented the district from 2005 to 2011.
More on elections:
Stage is set: The stage is set for a historic showdown inside Chicago's federal courthouse, where U.S. District Judge April Perry has ordered U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, the city's top federal prosecutor, to testify. Perry has previously made it clear she doesn't believe what Boutros has told her about the disastrous "Broadview Six" scandal.
Looming charges: Boutros is due on the witness stand later this month. So are three prosecutors from his office. Sanctions and criminal contempt charges loom. And finger-pointing has already begun over the failed 2025 prosecution of six Midway Blitz protesters. Perry’s hearing could take the Dirksen Federal Courthouse deep into uncharted waters — if it goes down.
DOJ curveball: Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department’s third-highest-ranking official, appears to have taken the wheel in the Broadview Six litigation. Woodward is expected to challenge Perry and try to short-circuit her hearing, which she has said will take place by Nov. 24.
In the Loop with Mariah Woelfel, 9 a.m.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
Today's clue: 8A: Take to the Lower Wacker Auto Pound, say
If ever there was an underdog Chicago could get behind, Rupert Cintron is it.
Cintron, an Elgin-based truck driver and father of four, made his debut as a pro sumo wrestler in a new league that swung through Chicago over the weekend.
"It's just an opportunity at my age to be able to do something like this," Cintron told the Sun-Times last week. "I'm 51 years old, and I'm about to get out there with these kids, and, you know, it's just cool. ... It's like life never ends if you don’t let the dream end. Just keep going."
With little sumo experience to his name, Cintron is very much just a dude in the right place and time who was given a shot. He hasn't worked out — in a gym, at least — in seven years. But every day, he moves about 11,000 pounds of flour, beef and other raw materials from his truck into the basements of Chicago restaurants.
At 5 feet 10 inches and 260 pounds, Cintron is also very green when it comes to sumo. He began wrestling only two years ago and is still learning all the Japanese words that go hand-in-hand with the sport, which Americans tend to pick up as adults. Professional Japanese sumo wrestlers typically start learning the sport at a young age.
We tagged along with Cintron as he competed in his debut match on Saturday.
Thanksgiving is the busiest travel period of the year.
With congestion worse than ever, the Sun-Times wants to hear your hacks for traveling during Thanksgiving. We're looking for tips for flying, driving or taking a train.
You can drop your advice here. We may use your advice in a guide for fellow travelers ahead of the holidays.
In yesterday's newsletter, we asked you: What marks the beginning of the holiday season in Chicago for you?
Here’s some of what you said, edited for length and clarity:
"When the Christkindl Market opens up at the Daley Center Plaza, the holidays have begun." — Terrence Camodeca
"Lighting of the official tree in Millennium Park." — Susana Leyva
"Seeing the Salvation Army bell ringers." — JoAnne Kempf
"Nonstop Christmas music on 93.9 FM." — Marne Tubbs
Riyad Hasan wins first place as the best doppelgänger of Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed during a “Senate Hunks” lookalike contest in River North on Sunday.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
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Editor: Michael Lansu
Copy edited by: Satchel Price
