We opened 2025 with Gov. JB Pritzker being rejected by his fellow Democrats on his push to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp until regulations could be put in place to keep delta-8 and delta-9 gummies and the like out of the hands of minors.
Illinois House Democrats, unable to agree among themselves on how to address the issue, handed the governor an embarrassing loss, refusing to bring the bill to a vote, but pledging to pass comprehensive legislation in the spring session. That didn’t happen, either, and the unacceptable reality of THC-infused candies and drinks for sale to anyone of any age at gas stations, corner stores and many other neighborhood retail outlets persists as we write.
So we wholeheartedly endorse the governor’s warning last week that he will take executive action if the legislature doesn’t pass a bill to end an intolerable status quo.
It’s not a position we take without some consideration. Ordinarily, we’re not fans of governors (or presidents) sidestepping lawmakers with executive orders that make major policy changes. And we wonder what legal authority Pritzker would have, say, to slap a temporary ban on the sale of intoxicating hemp or even to impose an age limit in the absence of legislative action.
But in this case we make an exception. The primary impetus of this warning would be to light a fire under the General Assembly, particularly House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who continues to insist he won’t bring bills to the floor unless they’re supported by at least 60 fellow Democrats — enough to pass a bill without any GOP support. Unwisely (and undemocratically), that hands veto power to 16% of the chamber, and the hemp industry has found too many sympathetic ears, particularly within the Black Caucus.
So far, Welch has declined to put much pressure — at least that we can see from the outside — on the hemp industry’s water carriers in Springfield. That’s shameful given that we’re talking about significant health risks to school-age kids from these intoxicants, which are marketed in packages that look like candies and can be highly potent depending on how much is consumed.
Interestingly, as the Tribune reported last week, Pritzker has found an unlikely gubernatorial ally in his battle against the hemp purveyors. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a thorn in Pritzker’s side just a few years ago when he bused more than 30,000 migrants to Chicago, on Sept. 10 issued an executive order of his own banning the sale of any hemp products to minors and imposing major restrictions on the sale of many familiar intoxicating hemp consumables. Abbott acted after vetoing a bill that would have banned any hemp products containing THC, which he said the courts likely would have overturned.
Here’s a thought. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see these two political foes travel to Washington, D.C., and together lobby Congress to fix the unintended legislative loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the manufacture of these synthetic drugs in the first place?
The inability in our hyperpartisan nation’s capital to pass a Farm Bill ever since — these agricultural laws are supposed to be revisited every four years — has caused this headache in statehouses around the country and put the health of kids in jeopardy.
Not only might Congress be shamed into acting if confronted by this shocking outbreak of bipartisanship. Setting aside their numerous other differences in order to accomplish something important on which Pritzker and Abbott agree would serve as a high-profile example of how politically ambitious Republicans and Democrats can unite for the common good on matters that aren’t and shouldn’t be partisan.
Bipartisan legislation — and the Farm Bill typically traditionally was one of the best examples, aligning lawmakers from agricultural states with big-city legislators who support supplemental nutrition assistance support authorized by that law — unfortunately is a rare sight these days. But we’re certain in some corners of Washington the muscle memory still is there to cooperate for the national good when the political stars line up.
Go ahead, Gov. Pritzker. Pick up the phone.
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