SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced today the results of the Social Equity Justice Involved Lottery for 55 Conditional Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensary Licenses (Conditional Licenses) from a pool of 589 unique applicants who scored 85 percent or greater in their applications.
To qualify for the lottery, applicants had to be eligible for social equity status under either criteria one (residency in a disproportionately impacted area) or two (eligible conviction) of the definition of Social Equity Applicant. The results of the Social Equity Justice Involved Applicant Lottery can be found here.
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Before Conditional Licenses are issued, the Department will initiate a review process to ensure applicants selected meet all statutorily required rules that must be fulfilled before a Conditional License can be issued.
“Social equity and justice are the heart and soul of the Adult-Use Cannabis Program in Illinois,” said Toi Hutchinson, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Cannabis. “Today’s results open the door to increasing the diversity of the industry and continue building on our successes in expunging convictions and investing in communities disproportionately harmed by the failed war on drugs.”
"Today’s Social Equity Justice Involved Lottery marks a paramount accomplishment for Illinois' cannabis industry, making it more inclusive for applicants from diverse backgrounds,”said Mario Treto, Jr., Acting Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “The announcement of today’s lottery selections is a milestone on Illinois's path as a national leader in the advancement of cannabis equity and I look forward to taking the next steps together for the future of the cannabis industry in Illinois."
No individual principal officer or applicant can receive more than two Conditional Licenses in this lottery. In the event a principal officer or applicant group has an application selected more than two times, the principal officer or the applicant group must complete the Department’s Abandonment Form to notify the Department of the BLS Region in which the applicant will be declining a Conditional License. Failure to submit the Abandonment Form within five (5) business days after the Department posts the results of the Social Equity Justice Involved Applicant Lottery will result in the denial of all Conditional Licenses from this lottery to all applicants associated with the principal officer or applicant group that is over the limit.
Additionally, an applicant may not have a principal officer who is also a principal officer in more than ten Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization Licenses, Conditional Licenses, and Adult Use Dispensing Organization Licenses. Should a principal officer find themselves in that situation, the principal officer must choose which license(s) to abandon by notifying IDFPR in writing. If the principal officer and/or applicant does not notify IDFPR, the Department will not issue the applicant all available conditional licenses drawn in this lottery.
IDFPR may also deny issuance of Conditional Licenses to any applicant who has a principal officer, board member, or person having a financial or voting interest of 5% or greater who is delinquent in filing any required tax return or paying any amount owed to the State of Illinois.
Those selected in this lottery who receive a Conditional License shall have 180 days to identify a physical location for the dispensing organization’s retail storefront. Groups unable to find a physical location within 180 days may receive an extension of an additional 180 days from IDFPR or be allowed to transfer their Conditional License to another BLS Region specified by the Department. If no extension is granted, the conditional adult use dispensing organization license shall be rescinded and awarded in accordance to the rules of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
The lottery results may change as a result of court orders or administrative review.
The Tied Applicant Lottery for 75 conditional licenses will be conducted by the Illinois Lottery on Thursday, August 19, 2021.
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