Elk Grove, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge voters support recreational pot sales
By Eric Peterson
epeterson@dailyherald.com
Voters in Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect and Park Ridge support allowing recreational marijuana sales in their hometowns, according to the preliminary results of advisory referendums in each community Tuesday.
The three Northwest suburbs were among the municipalities that chose to ban recreational pot dispensaries when they became permissible under state law earlier this year.
But in unofficial results late Tuesday, Elk Grove Village residents voted 7,756 to 4,510 in favor of allowing pot shops. Mount Prospect voters weighed in with 11,393 in favor to 6,541 against, while in Park Ridge 9,442 voters said yes while 6,552 opposed the change.
The unofficial results don't include mail-in ballots that had yet to arrive Tuesday.
In suburban Cook County, 576,465 mail-in ballots were sent to voters. But as of Tuesday morning, 177,118 of those had not yet been received by the clerk's office. Ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted if they arrive within 14 days after the election.
Mount Prospect already has a medical marijuana dispensary, New Age Care at 2015 E. Euclid Ave. Its parent company, Revolution Global, has been unhappy about having to wait for the outcome of an advisory referendum to see if it can expand to recreational marijuana sales.
Revolution CEO Mark de Souza earlier said his company has been in talks with neighboring communities, including Des Plaines, about relocating.
But even if it remains in Mount Prospect, the dispensary likely would seek a more appropriate site for recreational marijuana sales than its current location, de Souza added.
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson has said the marijuana question is especially relevant to Elk Grove Village Cares, a village program that helps arrange treatment for those battling substance addiction.
He said village officials want to know whether residents believe recreational marijuana sales in town would be contradictory to the mission of that program.
Alongside its recreational marijuana question, Elk Grove also asked voters whether it should limit the number of video gambling locations and whether it should consider charging residents an increased rate for unlimited yard waste collection instead of issuing yard waste stickers.
Voters seemed to favor the video gambling limitation, with 8,321 for a limit and 3,911 against, according to preliminary results. But they opposed the increased yard waste rate, with 8,835 voting no and 3,307 voting yes.
But as they're all nonbinding questions, the village board retains final say over all three issues.
The only binding referendum in the Northwest Cook County suburbs Tuesday was Elk Grove Township's question about abolishing its road district and letting the general township take over its duties and assets.
Voters there appeared to favor the change, with 13,824 saying yes and 9,605 saying no, according to unofficial results.
The practical effect of the proposed change, Township Supervisor Michael Sweeney has said, is that the elected office of highway commissioner would be dissolved and the road district's sole full-time employee - who recently retired - won't be replaced.
The township also would contract outside firms to handle snow removal and branch pickup on its six miles of unincorporated roads.
The retired employee's $120,000 in annual salary and benefits would be replaced with a snow removal contract that might be about a quarter of that amount. But the township also could choose to pay a premium to have its roads at the top of the contractor's list, Sweeney said.