The City of Jacksonville is one vote away from having an adult use cannabis dispensary. The City Council will hear a second reading of an ordinance for rezoning 1112 Veterans Drive for special use on Monday night. The property was purchased by Kenny Pleasant of Bellevue, Washington who hopes to open his first dispensary in Illinois.

Pleasant and his partner Michael Beraki of Kush 21 have 10 major cannabis retail shops in the State of Washington. Pleasant met Beraki when he was a tenant in one of his buildings and Beraki asked him to jump aboard a new venture in the retail adult-use cannabis industry. Pleasant says he initially refused: “With [cannabis] having a negative stigma, I, at the time, was vehemently opposed to it. No way. I had my own views about what the effects had been and were on the Black community.”

Pleasant says his negative views and the connotations on the usage of cannabis changed once he spent more time on the inside of the industry and got more involved as a business consultant proposing business modeling and best practices: “I saw it from a different perspective. Seeing a lot of the people that were consumers were older, elderly people, some people that were suffering from different medical conditions – anxiety, stress, PTSD, cancer, etc. and then as I spent time in the first dispensary, I actually noticed there was a large demographic was quite different than I assumed most people perceive it to be and that actually provided a lot of benefits to a lot of different people.”

Pleasant says from a business perspective he believes the cannabis industry as an entry way for more minority-owned wealth in the country. He says with more minority-owned wealth in the United States, it can enact more social change that he believes the country needs.

Pleasant says that he and Beraki had a large amount of communities and locations to choose from in Illinois for selecting where they wanted to place their cannabis dispensary. He says he was initially hesitant to come to Illinois and West Central Illinois specifically after reading about the history of “sundown towns” in the area. Pleasant says when he made phone calls to the municipal leaders in the City of Jacksonville, he changed his mind about coming here: “It was quite different than what I expected. They were extremely friendly, helpful, [and] welcoming. I live in a large metropolitan area outside of Seattle in Bellevue, Washington and you rarely get that sort of intimate access or connection to city officials here. This was something that was very meaningful and welcoming.”

Pleasant says he learned of the 1112 Veterans Drive property from those initial phone calls who placed him into contact with the property owner Dan Kindred to talk about a potential lease or sale. Pleasant says if another community came along and possibly offered a better deal, he would not change his mind but stay with Jacksonville as a place to locate the business.

He says he knows that some residents have concerns about a cannabis dispensary coming to town. Pleasant attended the Jacksonville Plans Commission meeting late last month and heard a few of those concerns, who are worried that the business will court a bad element to town or increase other drug use. Pleasant says that his business model has safety at the top of mind that goes above and beyond the State of Illinois’ heavy regulations on the cannabis industry: “The family together operates 10 dispensaries in Washington. We are experienced and we understand security and safety. That has always been at the top of the priority list. In terms of how a company is structured and the values, the customers and so forth – we put safety and security and community at the top of the list. Then, we work down from there. We’re not saying that we’re sacrificing customer service or any of the other things that come with running a good business. I feel like having those things at the top of the list offers a benefit to the customer, as well. Safety and security is always the number one thing we focus on.”

Pleasant says that the mental fallacy that a dispensary will create an influx of new crime in Jacksonville is not the case. He says there have been little to no incidents of crime at their 10 retail locations in Washington. Pleasant says that if people want adult-use cannabis they need only to drive to Springfield or Quincy to get it anyway and that use of cannabis isn’t a new introduction to town: “Whatever substance or behaviors that people are doing or people are worried about already exist. It’s just a 20-minute drive to go to Springfield to get the product. We aren’t introducing [harder] drugs to the community. If people could partition that stigma or past experience that they have with this highly regulated industry of legalized cannabis, then maybe they can see the different perspective. This isn’t a store opening up and selling a wide selection of drugs. We have highly regulated cannabis from seed to fill, so we know exactly where it was planted, how it got there, how it was processed, along with every part of the process and the transaction is heavily monitored by the State of Illinois.”

Pleasant says that he and his partners are not just out-of-state venture capitalists looking to swoop in and make money on the backs of the people of West Central Illinois. He says that he and his partners want to become strategic community partners and give back in different, beneficial ways: “We don’t just want to be a store that comes in and makes huge profits on the community, but provides and looks for ways that we can help improve the community in different plans and goals for the city, which giving money back through partnering, sponsoring, helping are some of those ways. I’m real big on education and self-education. Anything that we can do to provide a value and be an asset to the community. My personal core value is giving and providing for education. Those types of opportunities we welcome and we look for. It’s not a publicity thing. It’s something that we personally feel good about anytime we can provide value.”

Pleasant says he and partner Michael Beraki are family men and hope to provide a proud example and good business ideals to their families as well as support members of their families. Beraki is an African immigrant from the country Eritrea, a small country on the Horn of Africa, bordered by Ethiopia and the Red Sea. Beraki came to the U.S. in 2002 at the age of 16 leaving his family behind, when he was working as a translator for a captain in the U.S. Army who offered to sponsor him and bring him to the U.S. Beraki has successfully ran businesses over the last two decades in Washington. According to an article in Marijuana Venture, Beraki hopes to expand his brand into Illinois in order to propel his business into creating a national line of CBD products.

The Kush 21 stores in Washington have received high marks for their security, marketing, and ease of use for customers. According to Marijuana Venture, the highly-rated customer loyalty program offers a wide variety of cannabis products catered directly toward the clientele in each community that they serve.

Pleasant says he and hopefully Beraki will be in attendance on Monday night for the final vote on the dispensary special use permit from the Jacksonville City Council.

The Funny Bunny Parade of Fools Comedy event is coming up this weekend at Lovejoy Hall at 520 West College Avenue. Several local comedians will provide the entertainment on Saturday starting at 3PM.

A $20 donation at the door is suggested. Attendees will have the chance to win one of 5 free hams. Proceeds from the event will go towards the Fresh Start program, which provides free assistive technology and training for people with disabilities.

Dan Thompson says Fresh Start has helped several people in the area since it began through updating and repurposing recycled technology: “Since 1994 to about now, we have probably serviced a well over 500 people from elementary school students all the way to senior citizens. I primarily work with senior citizens since I’m retired. Our name back in the beginning was ASPIRE – Achieving Success by Providing Individuals with Recycled Equipment.”

Thompson says he’s become the local on-call, in-home technology guru for several people, even those who move out of Jacksonville on a variety of equipment: “I go to people’s houses and teach them how to use a wide range of technology. There’s a whole list of technology. I go to their houses and I train them. I also volunteer at the Jacksonville Center for Independent Living. I also help a lot of people on the phone. Many people will call me that have moved away. Once you help them, once you become a part of that lifeline you kind of become their lifelong assistive tech guru.”

Thompson says that he also helps many keep or get a job, stay in school, or remain independent. He says that on average, a person with a visual disability only makes about $38,000 a year. Thompson says this is just one more way for those with a disability or those who are retired stay connected with technology, use technology, and develop valuable job skills. For more information about Fresh Start, call 217-883-4582.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is urging motorist to use caution when traveling on Illinois Route 125 from Virginia to Beardstown for the time being.

Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn says that 2 vehicles in the last two days have become disabled due to potholes along that stretch of highway.

This stretch of highway is not currently listed on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s current 5-year capital plan.

Sheriff Ohrn wishes to remind the public that the state highway’s maintenance is governed by the State of Illinois and not the county.

To report vehicle damage caused by a pothole, call IDOT at 217-782-7820 and choose Option 3, and to report road issues call 1-800-452-4368 and select Option 9.

The first domino has fallen in multiple cases against a West Central Illinois woman who has multiple charges across the region.

25 year old Abigail L. Martin-Angulo pled guilty in Greene County Court on Friday to deceptive practice at a Greenfield auto dealer back in September 2020. Martin was arrested on Oct. 2, 2020 by Greenfield Police on the charges.

Greene County State’s Attorney Caleb Briscoe outlines the open plea: “Basically, we had alleged that she had written check to Morrow Brothers Ford in Greenfield, and at the time she issued the check to them that she knew that there wasn’t sufficient funds in the bank to be able to cash that. We were set for trial to begin on Tuesday, but last Friday afternoon she ended up pleading guilty to that charge and was sentenced to 3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Morrow Brothers was able to get the vehicle relatively quickly, within the next day or two of the incident, so we weren’t seeking any restitution for that. She was assessed court costs in this felony case, which should be around $600-$700.”

Briscoe says that his office is having to do some extra paperwork on the case, coordinating with several other counties where Martin may have been arrested: “Typically, whenever somebody is sentenced to the Department of Corrections, we issue a mittimus and stand her, basically, and notify the Department of Corrections that she’s been sentenced and is ready to make arrangements to drop her off there to serve it. The issue in this case is because she does have pending cases in several counties in Illinois and I think in other jurisdictions as well. Technically, if she was being held in a different county but our warrant was outstanding, she’s entitled to that credit against our 3-year sentence. We are working with other counties right now just to verify when or when she was not in custody and whether or not she would have been held on a Greene County warrant during that time.”

Martin has pending cases remaining in Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, and Fulton Counties. She recently pled guilty to a similar deceptive practice charge for passing bad checks in Galesburg last month and was sentenced to probation and restitution.

Martin is next due in Morgan County Court on April 26^th for a status hearing on a forgery charge.

She remains held at the Greene County Jail.

A 2018 murder trial that concluded with a guilty verdict will have a final motion to be heard in Morgan County Court before sentencing.

22 year old Dustin A. Finlaw, who was found guilty in the first degree murder of Robert Utter in January, has filed a post-trial motion for a new trial.

Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll says that Finlaw, despite being self-represented, is following common procedure for a case of this magnitude: “Technically, he won’t be able to file an appeal to the conviction until after his sentencing. The pre-appeal motion that is always filed really with any jury trial, whether it’s an individual representing themself or somebody with counsel, is a motion for a new trial. On February 15th, Mr. Finlaw filed his motion for a new trial. In that motion, he outlines what he feels was done improperly both by the court and the prosecution. It is his hope through that motion that the court will grant him a new trial.”

Finlaw argues in his court filing that the state failed to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was guilty of stabbing 42 year old Robert Utter to death on May 24, 2018 in Meredosia. Finlaw says that closing arguments were “prejudicial” and the arguments denied him a right to a fair trial. Finlaw also says in the motion that the jury selection process denied him an impartial jury.

Noll contends that even though the normal jury selection process was rearranged due to Covid-19 protocols, he feels a proper jury was set in the case: “[Mr. Finlaw] didn’t specifically write down what specific objections he was raising about the voir dire process. I don’t know if it was the Covid protocols that were put in place – that he will argue that at his sentencing hearing or the hearing on this motion. I’m confident that the court didn’t err on anything to do with voir dire, and the state did not act improperly during voir dire. I’m at a loss as to what he will argue, but it would surprise me if he would argue that he didn’t receive a fair jury because of the Covid protocols. The protocols that were in place didn’t excuse jurors from serving or affect whether or not they could be impartial. The protocols just basically effected where they were seated in the courtroom, which obviously, didn’t have anything to do with their ability to serve or even judge the case impartially.”

Noll says that the remainder of the motion presents unspecific objections to the state’s expert witnesses from the Illinois State Police and what Finlaw says was “hearsay” testimony: “It’s difficult to say [what his arguments will be.] Again, he didn’t spell out exactly what his arguments will be in his motion. He just indicates that he has a problem with the expert witnesses that were called and their qualifications. Obviously, the jury heard their qualifications at the time that, for example, the Illinois State Police forensic scientists were tendered to the jury as expert witnesses. [Mr. Finlaw] didn’t object to their qualifications. He didn’t object that they were expert witnesses. Nor was there ever an objection made to any testimony coming in that was based on hearsay. A lot of these issues that he’s raised, if he did have legitimate objections to them, he should have made them at the time the evidence was being presented. It’s the state’s position that they were legitimate objections and that’s why he didn’t make them at the time that he should have made them. They were done in a timely manner.”

Noll says it’s a common attempt by any counsel to see if the court will grant the defense a new trial. Finlaw faces 20-60 years in prison on the conviction. Noll says if the court finds that Finlaw’s actions were premeditated with wanton cruelty, he could be sentenced to natural life in prison. Finlaw’s sentencing is scheduled for April 1^st.

Michael Madigan’s inner circle defense team asked for a surprise move in federal court on Wednesday.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that they wish to keep their September 12^th trial date and that they would prefer a bench trial.

In federal court, it is rare to have a bench trial rather than a jury trial. According to the Sun-Times, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber was told by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachuit that Wednesday was the first time the federal prosecution had heard of the defendants’ preference for a bench trial.

Leinenweber set an April 26^th status for the case. Both parties have to agree to the stipulation. According to the Sun-Times, the bench trial could signal that there is a disagreement over interpretation of a law or a charge in the case rather than on the facts of the case.

Quincy Lobbyist Michael McClain’s defense attorney Patrick Cotter told the court that a number of motions would be filed if a bench trial would not be allowed to proceed. The case, separate from Madigan’s and McClain’s federal rackateering case, also involves former Commonwealth-Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, and former City Club President Jay Doherty.

The four were indicted in November 2020 and accuse the group of arranging for Madigan associates and allies to get jobs, contracts, and money in order to influence Madigan as key energy legislation worked its way through the General Assembly.

The inner circle’s September trial is largely considered to be a preview of the forthcoming Madigan trial.

The Illinois Senate took a rare step Tuesday in rejecting one of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s appointments.

The Democratic-controlled Senate’s 22-19 vote fell short of the 30 votes needed to confirm Jeffrey Mears’ nomination to the Prison Review Board. All 18 Senate Republicans voted against Mears’ confirmation along with one Democrat, Patrick Joyce of Essex. 18 Democrats were not present in the chamber for the vote on Tuesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham of Chicago told the Tribune he plans to vote against the nominations of Oreal James and Eleanor Wilson to the Prison Review Board in the coming days. The two were appointed by Pritzker and voted last year to grant parole for two men who killed police officers in the state five decades ago. Cunningham says that people who kill police officers in the line of duty should serve a life sentence without possibility of parole. Republican State Senator Terri Bryant also voiced concern over Mears’ vote to grant parole for Paula Sims, convicted in 1990 for killing her two daughters in Alton. Sims had been serving a life sentence for the crime. The board voted 12-1 to allow Sims’ release.

Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abbudayyeh told Capitol News Illinois that Senate Republicans are trying to dismantle the board, which she called a constitutional obligation.

The review board is responsible for hearing parole hearings 15-20 times a month at various locations around the state. Three board members must be present at each hearing to render a decision on whether to terminate an offender’s parole, otherwise the offender would be released and deemed not in violation of parole.

According to Capitol News Illinois, the Pritzker Administration urged the Executive Appointments Committee to act quickly on the appointments to address the potential of not having enough board members for the parole hearings.

Three area businesses were honored during the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting Tuesday night.

The Chamber said good-bye to several retiring members and honored retiring member and past president Maryjane Million.

Three annual awards were presented.

Worrell Land Services was honored as Small Business of the Year, with under 25 employees.

Business of the Year went to CassComm, with over 25 employees.

The Non-Profit Business of the Year was the Morgan County Health Department. Specifically mentioned during the health department’s honor was the employees and organization’s response locally to the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years.

Governor J.B. Pritzker and state Democrats are celebrating passage of legislation that designates funds to pay down the state’s deficit in the unemployment insurance trust fund. State Republicans say that the legislation will eventually lead to a tax on businesses and the elimination of a safety net to the state’s unemployed.

The legislation places $2.7 billion in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, which had become depleted due to the payout of benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic. Pritzker touted the move by the General Assembly saying it puts the state in better financial standing: “Today we mark yet another milestone in getting Illinois’ fiscal house in order — paying down $4.1 billion in debt for health insurance, college programs, pensions and unemployment. These actions are saving Illinois taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments and reducing the burden that would fall onto businesses and workers over the next decade. Democrats in the General Assembly are overcoming the difficult circumstances of our past and putting working families first.”

The legislation also pays $898 million in legacy debt for state employee health insurance, a $300 million payment to the state’s pension funds, and more than $200 million to pay off the College Illinois tuition contracts. According to the Pritzker Administration, the 1990s-era prepaid tuition program has been on the verge of insolvency for years and the payoff will allegedly save taxpayers $75 million in unnecessary costs over the remaining life of the program.

State Republicans’ opinions of the bill say it’s not going to save the state’s businesses or taxpayers in the long run, and will cause a tax hike. Republican State Senator Win Stoller of Peoria said in a press conference yesterday that the bill will have dire consequences: “We are facing the possibility of one of the largest tax increases on employers in Illinois history. We are facing the possibility of significant benefit cuts to people who need them most – unemployed workers. And, we are facing the possibility of trying to borrow our way out of this problem.”

GOP gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan says it’s another tax increase by the Pritzker Administration: “J.B. Pritzker has never met a tax hike he doesn’t like. And his failure to pursue commonsense budgeting is now costing Illinois families and businesses millions of dollars. The governor could have fixed this problem more than a year ago by using federal aid money to replenish our unemployment insurance trust fund, as more than 30 states have done. Instead, he went on a corrupt spending spree, including $1 billion in capital projects controlled by Democrats. Taxpayers and small businesses deserve better.”

Aurora Mayor and current GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin’s campaign echoed similar criticisms: “After trying to pass the largest tax hike in our state’s history, the Tax-Hiker-In-Chief is trying once more to tax Illinois families and businesses out of this state. Thanks to his reckless disregard for shoring up the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, Illinois employers and workers will have to make up the difference, resulting in billions of dollars in tax increases and benefit cuts. Tonight’s vote is yet another example as to why voters don’t trust Pritzker and Springfield politicians to do anything right, and exactly why we must take our state back.”

Lawmakers are up against an April 1 deadline to allocate the federal relief dollars to the unemployment fund. If they don’t act by then, rules from the U.S. Treasury Department would prohibit Illinois from reducing the amount or length of unemployment benefits until 2025. All Republicans voted no on the measure on the bill in the House on Wednesday with Democrats once again going alone on Thursday night.

It’s widely believed among Springfield insiders that the State may once again enter the the bond market to raise a yet-to-be-agreed-to sum. And like it’s already done twice in the past two decades, Illinois may trade one interest rate for another, borrowing from private lenders to pay back what it borrowed from the feds.

Area first responders are mourning the loss of two pillars of their community this week.

The South Jacksonville Fire Department announced the passing of retired South Jacksonville Fire Chief David Hickox. Hickox was a firefighter, paramedic and mentor in the South Jacksonville community with over 30 years of service. Hickox retired as Fire Chief in 2019, after 22 years in the position. Hickox was a part of the building of the new Fire and Police Department on Sequoia Drive in 2004, and helped to establish the South Jacksonville Ambulance service in 2008.

On Tuesday, several area fire departments and EMS groups announced the passing of long-time Winchester EMS volunteer Lynette Schafer. Schafer was an active member of the Winchester EMS for 31 years. She taught multiple fire, police and other agencies CPR.

Funeral services for Schafer will be held 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 12th with a visitation held Monday, April 11th from 4-7PM at Daws Family Funeral Home in Winchester.

Services for Hickox are pending and have not yet been announced.

South Jacksonville Fire Officials are sharing their condolences with the Hickox and Schafer families, and ask the community to their families and friends in their prayers at this time.

Jeremy Coumbes assisted with this report.