SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – The Illinois Department of Agriculture has awarded 48 Craft Grow licenses, successfully completing a licensing round that began in December of 2021.
The list of the awardees is available on the Department’s Adult Use Cannabis webpage.
According to the IDOA, as of June 1, 2022, 341 adult use cannabis licenses have been awarded to craft growers, infusers, and transporters under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
The IDOA reports of the newly issued 48 Craft Grow Licenses, 42% (20) are majority Black-owned, 36% (17) are majority White-owned, 8% (4) are majority Hispanic-Owned, and 8% are owned by a partnership group. Six percent of awardees did not provide that information. One hundred percent of new licenses were issued to Social Equity Applicants.
“Illinois’ cannabis industry started out with businesses with owners who all looked the same, but with each new set of licenses, we come closer and closer to realizing our vision for a truly diverse industry,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I’m especially pleased that 100 percent of these craft grow licensees come from a social equity background, and I look forward to many more businesses opening their doors and creating even more good jobs.”
Since 2021, IDOA has issued 88 craft grow licenses, 54 infuser licenses, 189 transporter licenses, and approved 10 community colleges to participate in Community College Cannabis Vocational Training Pilot Program, in addition to the 21 existing Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Centers, previously approved under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program.
“The Department is thrilled to announce the issuance of these licenses,” said Department of Agriculture Director, Jerry Costello II. “These licensees now join those licensed by the Department last year to form the foundation of the legal cannabis industry in Illinois, and together will generate thousands of well-paying jobs across the state as they come online. Our team has remained highly focused on its core mission of developing a well-regulated and equitable industry. With now a second cohort of 100% social equity licensees, we’re proud to say that we have taken the first steps toward fulfilling the vision of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act passed by the Legislature. The Department looks forward to working with these licensees over the next weeks and months as the industry grows and matures.”
“Writing the social equity components as well as creating new levels of ownership was no easy task when we set out to legalize adult use cannabis in Illinois, but today we see some of that hard work pay off and our dreams come to fruition with the issuing of the craft grow licenses,” said Representative Sonya Harper (D-Chicago), Chair of the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee and Chair of the Joint Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. “We imagined smaller cultivators being able to compete on their own level in this new marketplace and saw creating this license as one more way to lower the barriers to owning a cannabis business.”
"Diversity in the cannabis industry has been a top priority since the law’s inception. It’s important we give people disproportionately impacted by the harmful War on Drugs strong footing in the industry,” said State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin), Co-Chair of the Joint Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus. “That’s why I’m pleased to see 100% of these recent Craft Grow Licenses go to social equity applicants—we’re showing that Illinois takes equity and diversity seriously.”
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, has a separate program that offers the State of Illinois low-interest loans to qualified licensed companies through its Social Equity Cannabis Loan Program.
Additional information about the Social Equity Cannabis Loan Program can be found here.
The full list of licensees is available on the department’s website.
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