Mount Prospect mulls whether to allow recreational pot sales

Mount Prospect trustees Tuesday debated the issue of whether to allow the sale of recreational marijuana in the village.

The village board is expected to make a final decision on Dec. 10.

The Planning and Zoning commission has recommended allowing the sale in nonresidential areas as a conditional use.

Tuesday's discussion ranged from how to use the more than $400,000 in anticipated annual revenue from taxing marijuana sales to the ethical implications for the village.

Trustee Colleen Saccotelli suggested a portion of the revenue should be used to fund public safety pensions, as well as to train police officers.

Trustee Michael Zadel as well said he would like the funds to be applied to public safety in such areas as law enforcement training.

The discussion took a philosophical drift when Trustee Eleni Hatzis asked, "So we get $440,000 plus or minus from this. What other good can we as a village get from this?"

Village Manager Michael Cassady answered, "One thing I would hope is that we would see some negative impact to illegal drug sales that are presently in our community."

He added, "Maybe we have a chance to reduce the impact the cartels are having right now in the suburbs."

Mayor Arlene Juracek concurred, saying, "For me, basically it boils down to a clean product not controlled by the drug cartels."

Trustee Paul Hoefert raised the issue of branding.

Pointing to Mount Prospect as a family-friendly community, he said, "We do have a brand. And we have worked hard to keep it. And it doesn't take long to lose your brand."

Saccotelli replied, "In terms of the brand, people are going to be using in Mount Prospect. No matter what we decide here, it's already legal.

"We're going to have to pay for this no matter what. And I want to make sure that we get the funds available to train our officers in the best way that they need to be."

She added, "There was a referendum in Cook County. The people of Mount Prospect voted 60 percent in favor. We're elected to represent the voice of the people."

Trustee William Grossi, however, noted that in the referendum "35 percent of the people didn't vote." So, he said, "It really is not 60 percent."

He said he agrees with Hoefert regarding the branding of the village and pointed out that such suburbs as Glenview, Wilmette and Arlington Heights have chosen to opt out.

He said, "If you are a young parent and you value your children's life and you want to raise them in a nice area, are you now going to go to Arlington Heights, Glenview or Wilmette instead of Mount Prospect because it's not available there?"