Waiting to Inhale: Stroger Cool With Pot Plan

The Cook County Board's ordinance which gives officers the option to ticket people who are carrying a small amount of pot will likely take effect.

Board President Todd Stroger on Thursday said he would not veto the measure, saying that "in some ways the ordinance makes sense."

"It'll be cheaper for us in the long run, because if we eliminate some of the people who are doing non-violent acts, and aren't truly, like selling, then you know, then that's less of a burdon on the taxpayer because that means we're not paying the high costs of keeping them in the jail," Stroger told Telemundo Chicago following a press conference on home mortgages.

The bill, passed Tuesday, gives sheriff’s police and deputies patrolling unincorporated portions of the county the latitude to arrest a suspect on a misdemeanor charge or, under the new ordinance, hit them with a $200 ticket if they’re carrying 10 grams or less of marijuana.

Stroger initially said he didn't know if he would sign it, but indicated Thursday that he'll let it take effect within 60 days.

"I don't change my mind too often," he said when asked if he thought he'd change his mind.

Of course, he contradicted himself, as Mayor Richard Daley has done, when he told WGN-AM that he "didn't think it's such a great idea."

"I'm not really an advocate of trying to decriminalize the drug that people start before they move on to the higher stuff," he said on Wednesday.

Leave Comments