By Fran Spielman
Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — Young people under 17 caught in Chicago with small amounts of marijuana and anyone without “proper identification” would be ineligible for pot tickets and would be arrested — just as they are now — under Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed decriminalization plan.
The ordinance to be considered Thursday by a City Council committee also includes fines ranging from $250 to $500 — up from a $100 minimum in Emanuel’s original plan — with the maximum fine assessed against anyone slapped with a second citation within a 30-day period.
Chicago Police officers will undergo “field-test training that includes recognition of marijuana, how to use a test kit, how to write up a charge” and how to identify “packaging for sale” before the ordinance takes effect, officials said.
The 15-gram maximum was “intended to approximate the difference between an offender who possesses marijuana and one who intends to sell it,” according to a fact sheet prepared for Chicago aldermen.
“Offenders under the age of 17 or those without proper ID would not be eligible for a ticket and would not be treated differently [than they are now] under this ordinance,” the fact sheet states, addressing a key concern raised by aldermen.
“The fine would range between $250 and $500 based on the number of offenses on a person’s record,” the sheet says. “The maximum fine would be assessed if an individual receives a second citation in a 30-day period.”
The City Council’s Committee on Public Safety will hold a hearing on the mayor’s ordinance at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Chicago Police officials will testify that 97 percent of last year’s arrests for less than 2.5 grams of pot resulted in no conviction. For amounts ranging from 2.5 to 10 grams, the no-conviction rate was 85 percent.
At an unrelated news conference Wednesday, Emanuel said he expects the fine-print in the ordinance — and the facts laid out by police officials — to persuade squeamish aldermen to sign on to his plan.
“I think aldermen will get comfortable with knowing there’s a right way to spend the time of our police officers,” the mayor said.
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