Dupage Policy Journal

At its Dec. 8 meeting, the village board of Glendale Heights discussed a proposed cannabis dispensary in the village. The developers explained their proposal, which met all village code requirements, made no foreseeable impact on traffic, and would have the highest security measures. The board had voted against the proposal at the previous board meeting.

The petitioner came to speak to the board about the proposal. He said that he had been asked specifically to put a dispensary in the village of Glendale Heights. He spoke to people’s concerns about safety and the lack of grounds of code violations to refuse the permit. After a lot of heated debate among board members, the motion to deny the permit failed by just one vote. The board will vote on an approval ordinance at the next board meeting.

“It is a legal question, I don't want this village subject to lawsuit, potential lawsuit," Mayor Chodri Khokhar said. "I have to enforce rules and regulations under the U.S. as well as Constitution of Illinois. So I am enforcing that. So that's the reason I said no.”

The board uploaded the livestream of its public meeting to the village’s YouTube channel.

Residents came to the board meeting and made their voices heard during public comment. There were several residents who were for the dispensary, wanting to capture the taxes for the village, some being being medical users of cannabis. Residents opposed to the dispensary cited underage usage, increased crime, and a move towards other vices.

The board will meet again for the last time in 2022 at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the council chambers at 300 Civic Center Plaza.