Wilmette Cannabis Referendum Leads In Early Voting Returns

WILMETTE, IL — Voters in Wilmette shared their opinion on whether they favor allowing cannabis to be sold legally in town in the Nov. 3 general election, with early unofficial results suggesting a majority favored commercial cannabis within village limits.

The ballot question presented to Wilmette voters was: “Shall the retail sale of adult use recreational cannabis be permitted within the Village of Wilmette at a business licensed by the State of Illinois?”

As of Wednesday morning, about 12,000 votes had been counted on the referendum, including all election day votes and some mail ballots.

Of those, voters supported cannabis sales by a margin of 55.4 percent to 44.5 percent. More than 6,600 voters in the village supported it and fewer than 5,400 opposed it,

According to the Cook County Clerk's Office, there were about 300,000 mail ballots received and still awaiting tallying across the Cook County suburbs. More than 100,000 more mail-in ballots also have yet to be received by the clerk's office, with state law requiring ballots received until Nov. 17 to be counted, as long as they were postmarked Tuesday or before.

More information about the number of outstanding votes remaining in each Wilmette precinct is expected by late Wednesday.

Following the passage of the law legalizing the possession and retail sale of marijuana in Illinois, village trustees chose not to allow retail cannabis businesses until after their constituents could express an opinion on the matter non-binding, advisory referendum.

Since then, several adult-use cannabis retailers have begun operating across the North Shore. A dispensary in a city-owned downtown Evanston parking garage opened on Jan. 1, in Niles in May, across from the Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie in August, and last month in Northbrook at Skokie Boulevard and Dundee Road.

Other New Trier Township communities have effective banned retail cannabis business through their zoning codes. Highland Park and Deerfield, though they each allowed medical cannabis dispensaries, did not allow recreational cannabis sale once it became legal in January. Deerfield built a temporary moratorium into their ordinance allowing a dispensary, and a divided Highland Park City Council changed course last month on whether to allow such businesses.

Read the Wilmette Voter Guide 2020 and return to Patch for results as they come in. Subscribe for free Breaking News Alerts for election results.

Regardless of what voters say — and what the Wilmette Village Board decides to do in response — there is no guarantee it will lead to weed being sold in Wilmette.

Although the village has never had any medical cannabis businesses, such operations are permitted under Wilmette's zoning code — but only in a very limited area.

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With ample opportunities for affordable commercial properties on the borders of wealthy North Shore enclaves, cannabis retail operators have expressed little interest in setting up shop in any of the towns where they are currently forbidden.

The highly coveted permits to sell pot are tightly restricted. State cannabis regulators have delayed the licensing process by months, citing the challenges presented by the coronavirus. The "social equity applicant" process has been put on hold, leaving the owners of pre-existing licensed medical cannabis dispensaries a monopoly on the retail market. Announcing the delay amid a flurry of lawsuits and questions over the no-bid consulting services the state employed, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said "the expectation here is that we'll be able to get this done this fall."

In the first nine months of legalized marijuana in Illinois, buyers spent more than a half-billion dollars, including tax — even with far fewer retailers than the law contemplated. The vast majority of the $100 million in tax revenue collected goes to state coffers and programs. Local governments can only collect up to 3 percent tax. Current revenue estimates show municipalities expect to collect about $500,000 in sales tax per facility this year.

In an unscientific survey this summer, a majority of self-identified Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch readers favored opting to allow recreational cannabis businesses.

Illinois law does not permit binding referendums on matters of policy — only modifications to forms of local government, raising taxes and issuing debt.

Six other Chicago area communities also have non-binding referendums addressing cannabis businesses on the ballot this election.

In addition to Wilmette, cannabis referendums are also on the ballot in six other communities: Batavia, Elk Grove Village, Glen Ellyn, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge, Western Springs.

Check back below for results as they come in: