Politics
Missouri session ends without constitutional amendment changes

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Missouri’s chaotic and divisive legislative session sputtered to a close on Friday with the inability to pass a measure making it harder to amend the state’s constitution.The failure of constitutional threshold boost, precipitated by a marathon Democratic filibusters and GOP infighting, is seen as a major win for abortion rights proponents. And some lawmakers see the end of this session as an end of an era where a GOP supermajority could impose its will.Since the beginning of the year, Republicans have struggled to pass a measure that would require any constitutional amendment to pass in five out of eight congressional districts in addition to a statewide majority. The big sticking point was whether to include other provisions, such as a measure banning noncitizens from voting — something that’s already illegal in Missouri.After a record-setting Democratic filibuster, Senate Republicans threw in the towel on having other items in Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman’s resolution when they couldn’t get enough members to force a vote. House Republicans rejected any proposal that didn’t include the noncitizen voting, and the Senate adjourned shortly after 10 a.m. — effectively killing the proposal for this year.Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, issued a Tweet on the social media platform X saying that the other provisions, dubbed ‘ballot candy’ by both critics and supporters of the constitutional threshold boost, were “unnecessary” and “deceptive” additions aimed at misleading voters.
This week, the Missouri Senate spent almost 50 straight hours attempting to pass IP Reform. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful and sent the bill to the House.Late yesterday, the House attempted to pass the same bill back to us. There’s no way the Senate can get done in 8 hours…— Caleb Rowden (@calebrowden) May 17, 2024
He reiterated that message in his end of session press conference.“I think the entire fact that had to be in there is a slap in the face to Missourians,” said Rowden. “I think that Missourians are absolutely smarter than they give them credit for.”Democratic Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, said the demise of the bid making it harder to amend the Missouri Constitution helped preserve Senate traditions — including an aversion to forcibly ending debate using what’s known as the previous question motion.“Democrats and Republicans came together this past week, and said enough is enough of this hyperbole,” said Rizzo, D-Independence.Rizzo also said it was likely that Republicans would try again at some point to reign in the initiative petition process. “And it might come back with a vengeance honestly,” he said.Some Republicans contended that the only way to raise the bar for constitutional amendments would be to include other items, especially since any proposal would face a torrent of expensive and well organized opposition. Similar measures to boost the threshold to pass constitutional amendments failed resoundingly in Arkansas and Ohio.Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, said if the proposal went down in flames this year, it could shelve the idea of making it harder to amend the Missouri Constitution for the foreseeable future — pointing to how GOP leaders abandoned ‘right to work’ as a priority after it was overwhelmingly repealed in a statewide referendum.“I would rather see that we’re able to cover a multitude of areas that are important to voters to protect our election process, and that’s what we’re attempting to do,” said Brattin, the head of the Missouri Freedom Caucus.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, speaks to Majority Floor Leader Jon Patterson, R-Jackson, on Thursday during the waning days of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.
Abortion vote looms largeHouse Republicans, such as Speaker Dean Plocher, expressed exasperation that the Senate couldn’t get their act together on what they dub ‘IP reform.’ The Des Peres Republican has contended that the failure to get it done could make it more likely that a proposal legalizing abortion will pass.“We the House are not responsible for abortion that may pass in Missouri. I blame that squarely on the Senate,” Plocher said.Plocher and other Republicans wanted the constitutional threshold boost on the ballot in August — with the hopes it would pass and create a tougher standard for the abortion initiative to pass in November. But Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden questioned whether that would actually happen, adding that it’s possible that any initiative in November would only need a majority.“The notion that IP reform being on the ballots is the magic bullet to make sure that the abortion IP doesn’t pass is ridiculous,” Rowden said. “It’s going to take Republicans and conservatives and folks who disagreed on IP folks who disagreed on any number of things to get out to the ballot and vote against that thing in November.”Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, strongly disagreed with Rowden’s interpretation.“The plain reading of the constitution says it goes into effect 30 days after. So if it was on the August ballot, then that means per the plain reading of the constitution, it would be in there the first week of September,” Koenig said. “Now, how would the courts rule on that? I’m sure there’d be lawsuits and sure there’s a chance. … But the plain reading of the Constitution says 30 days.”Sen. Bill Eigel, of Weldon Spring and a member of the Freedom Caucus and a candidate for governor, said “I still have confidence that Missouri didn’t become any less pro life as a result of the failures on the Senate floor.”“We’ve been winning that fight for two decades in this state,” Eigel said. “And I think that a lot of folks, no matter how many failures we see from all these politicians, I think a lot of folks are going to be surprised by a whole bunch,” he said.But House Minority Leader Crystal Quade not only expects for voters to find favor with the abortion legalization measure, but for it to help elect enough Democrats to break the GOP supermajority.“This is something that Missourians want, because they’re tired of Republican overreach,” Quade said. “They’re tired of politicians in their doctor’s offices and telling them how to live their lives.”
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri Senate Majority Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, pauses while giving closing remarks on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City. O’Laughlin gaveled the Missouri Senate out minutes after gaveling in and a week of disfunction.
Session personified by bitter GOP factionalismFriday’s Senate adjournment marked a somewhat anticlimactic end to a session that was highlighted by bitter fighting between Senate GOP leadership and the Missouri Freedom Caucus.The disarray included protracted clashes between the two factions over a multitude of issues, including the reauthorization of a tax known as the FRA funding the state’s Medicaid system. That led to an unprecedented situation where lawmakers ended up approving the budget without going to a conference committee.Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin adjourned the Senate much earlier than usual on the last Friday of session — and said she did so because she didn’t want to exacerbate tensions. Thursday featured bitter public sniping between Eigel and Freedom Caucus critic Sen. Mike Cierpiot.Plocher alluded to how the Senate didn’t approve a single bill during the last week of session — something that hasn’t happened in recent memory.“Every year is unusual,” he said. “But this has been a less productive year on the other side of the building when the House has put its foot forward for the state of Missouri.”Quade pointed out that, excluding budget bills, this was the least productive session in terms of legislation passed in recent history.“It is an interesting feeling as a Democrat here in Missouri when we are relieved that they aren’t able to get their act to get together enough to actually do something,” Quade said. “There were so many terrible bills that did not pass, not only because of their infighting, but because of our Democrats doing such an amazing job of understanding how to navigate that.”
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, wipes a tear away after giving her farewell address on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
But Quade added that lawmakers also didn’t act on things with bipartisan appeal, including increasing the age that someone can get married from 16 to 18 years. Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, also noted that an effort to provide tax credits to help child care centers also faltered.“That is the major disappointment of session for me. And just because we didn’t pass legislation doesn’t mean that the issue has gone away,” Arthur said. “If anything, it’s going to get worse, because there hasn’t been legislative action taken.”Rowden said that the fighting masked some successes, including the passage of wide-ranging education legislation.“The noise gets a lot of attention around here, and it probably will always be that way,” Rowden said. “But it isn’t the thing that at the end of the day defines this place. And it shouldn’t be the thing that motivates us. I make decisions not about not based on what people are going to say about those decisions on Twitter, but about what is in the best interest of the state and what’s in the best interest of this institution.”Brattin, though, said the session showed how ineffective Republican leadership can be — even when they have overwhelming supermajorities.“When you’re not doing what you said you were going to do when you are elected, people are going to be angry and mad at you for not doing what you said you were going to do,” Brattin said. “And that’s what the Republican Party has turned into: Feckless, spineless, ambassadors of nothing, and not fighting for what’s right.”
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, and Freedom Caucus member speaks on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
This session also marked a rare instance where Democrats, who have been outnumbered for years in both the House and Senate, played a major role in killing a major GOP priority. That came after Senate Democrats played a crucial role in passing the budget and the authorization of the FRA — and letting bills they oppose, like a ban on state funding for Planned Parenthood, go to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.But Rizzo said the ultimate failure to get a constitutional threshold ballot item to voters was less about growing Democratic influence in the General Assembly — and more about a rejection of what he called ‘bullying.’“I don’t think that this body wanted to give certain people in that chamber a win when they’re in the throes of session after the way they were treated all year. And I truly am proud of all the Democrats and Republicans that stood up to that, truthfully.”Rep. Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat who may succeed Quade as minority leader, added that the prospect of more Democrats could change how the legislature operates.“We’ve been left out of the room, but we proven time and time again, even with a supermajority of Republicans, that they still need us to pass priorities,” Aune said.See photos from the end of the 2024 Missouri Legislative Session by STLPR’s Brian Munoz below:
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri State Rep. Adam Schwadron, R-St. Charles, reacts while talking to colleagues on Thursday during the waning days of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Jefferson City. Schwadron is sporting first-place medals for winning the legislature’s annual trivia showdown.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri Rep. Kemp Strickler, D-Lee’s Summit, speaks with Rep. Emily Weber, D-Kansas City, on Thursday during the waning days of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMIssouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, looks over Majority Floor Leader Jon Patterson, R-Lees Summit, on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri Senate Majority Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, reacts while speaking to Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, on Thursday during the waning days of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri State Rep. Jeff Myers, R-Warrenton, launches a rubber chicken slingshot on Thursday during the waning days of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Jefferson City. Republicans and Democrats took turns shooting rubber chickens across the floor in reference to a piece of legislation that bans Homeowner Association-led bans on chicken ownership.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioNaomi Groce, 2, presses a button held by Missouri State Sen. Rusty Black, R-St. Louis County, that makes his tie pig noises on Thursday during the waning days of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMichele Shanahan DeMoss, of Peculiar, Mo., hugs Missouri State Rep. Yolanda Young, D-Kansas City, on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City. DeMoss’ daughter, Blair, was killed by celebratory gunfire in 2011.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri State Rep. Justin Hurlbert, R-Smithville, holds his 2-year-old daughter Rebekah on Friday during the waning hours of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri State Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, fans himself on Thursday, May 16, 2024, during the waning days of the legislative session at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMIssouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, wipes away tears while giving his farewell address on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, wipes a tear away after giving her farewell address on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioThe Missouri House of Representatives votes on a piece of legislation on Friday during the last day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioThe sun sets on the Missouri State Capitol on Thursday in Jefferson City.
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Politics
Poll: Support for Missouri abortion rights amendment growing

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A proposed constitutional amendment legalizing abortion in Missouri received support from more than half of respondents in a new poll from St. Louis University and YouGov.That’s a boost from a poll earlier this year, which could mean what’s known as Amendment 3 is in a solid position to pass in November.SLU/YouGov’s poll of 900 likely Missouri voters from Aug. 8-16 found that 52% of respondents would vote for Amendment 3, which would place constitutional protections for abortion up to fetal viability. Thirty-four percent would vote against the measure, while 14% aren’t sure.By comparison, the SLU/YouGov poll from February found that 44% of voters would back the abortion legalization amendment.St. Louis University political science professor Steven Rogers said 32% of Republicans and 53% of independents would vote for the amendment. That’s in addition to nearly 80% of Democratic respondents who would approve the measure. In the previous poll, 24% of Republicans supported the amendment.Rogers noted that neither Amendment 3 nor a separate ballot item raising the state’s minimum wage is helping Democratic candidates. GOP contenders for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and secretary of state all hold comfortable leads.“We are seeing this kind of crossover voting, a little bit, where there are voters who are basically saying, ‘I am going to the polls and I’m going to support a Republican candidate, but I’m also going to go to the polls and then I’m also going to try to expand abortion access and then raise the minimum wage,’” Rogers said.Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Kehoe has a 51%-41% lead over Democrat Crystal Quade. And U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is leading Democrat Lucas Kunce by 53% to 42%. Some GOP candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer have even larger leads over their Democratic rivals.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioHundreds of demonstrators pack into a parking lot at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and Southwest Missouri on June 24, 2022, during a demonstration following the Supreme Court’s reversal of a case that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion.
One of the biggest challenges for foes of Amendment 3 could be financial.Typically, Missouri ballot initiatives with well-funded and well-organized campaigns have a better chance of passing — especially if the opposition is underfunded and disorganized. Since the end of July, the campaign committee formed to pass Amendment 3 received more than $3 million in donations of $5,000 or more.That money could be used for television advertisements to improve the proposal’s standing further, Rogers said, as well as point out that Missouri’s current abortion ban doesn’t allow the procedure in the case of rape or incest.“Meanwhile, the anti side won’t have those resources to kind of try to make that counter argument as strongly, and they don’t have public opinion as strongly on their side,” Rogers said.There is precedent of a well-funded initiative almost failing due to opposition from socially conservative voters.In 2006, a measure providing constitutional protections for embryonic stem cell research nearly failed — even though a campaign committee aimed at passing it had a commanding financial advantage.Former state Sen. Bob Onder was part of the opposition campaign to that measure. He said earlier this month it is possible to create a similar dynamic in 2024 against Amendment 3, if social conservatives who oppose abortion rights can band together.“This is not about reproductive rights or care for miscarriages or IVF or anything else,” said Onder, the GOP nominee for Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District seat. “Missourians will learn that out-of-state special interests and dark money from out of state is lying to them and they will reject this amendment.”Quade said earlier this month that Missourians of all political ideologies are ready to roll back the state’s abortion ban.“Regardless of political party, we hear from folks who are tired of politicians being in their doctor’s offices,” Quade said. “They want politicians to mind their own business. So this is going to excite folks all across the political spectrum.”
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Democrat Mark Osmack makes his case for Missouri treasurer

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Mark Osmack has been out of the electoral fray for awhile, but he never completely abandoned his passion for Missouri politics.Osmack, a Valley Park native and U.S. Army veteran, previously ran for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District seat and for state Senate. Now he’s the Democratic nominee for state treasurer after receiving a phone call from Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan asking him to run.“There’s a lot of decision making and processing and evaluation that goes into it, which is something I am very passionate and interested in,” Osmack said this week on an episode of Politically Speaking.Osmack is squaring off against state Treasurer Vivek Malek, who was able to easily win a crowded GOP primary against several veteran lawmakers including House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and state Sen. Andrew Koenig.While Malek was able to attract big donations to his political action committee and pour his own money into the campaign, Osmack isn’t worried that he won’t be able to compete in November. Since Malek was appointed to his post, Osmack contends he hasn’t proven that he’s a formidable opponent in a general election.“His actions and his decision making so far in his roughly two year tenure in that office have been questionable,” Osmack said.Among other things, Osmack was critical of Malek for placing unclaimed property notices on video gaming machines which are usually found in gas stations or convenience stores. The legality of the machines has been questioned for some time.As Malek explained on his own episode of Politically Speaking, he wanted to make sure the unclaimed property program was as widely advertised as possible. But he acknowledged it was a mistake to put the decals close to the machines and ultimately decided to remove them.Osmack said: “This doesn’t even pass the common sense sniff test of, ‘Hey, should I put state stickers claiming you might have a billion dollars on a gambling machine that is not registered with the state of Missouri?’ If we’re gonna give kudos for him acknowledging the wrong thing, it never should have been done in the first place.”Osmack’s platform includes supporting programs providing school meals using Missouri agriculture products and making child care more accessible for the working class.He said the fact that Missouri has such a large surplus shows that it’s possible to create programs to make child care within reach for parents.“It is quite audacious for [Republicans] to brag about $8 billion, with a B, dollars in state surplus, while we offer next to no social services to include pre-K, daycare, or child care,” Osmack said.Here’s are some other topics Osmack discussed on the show:How he would handle managing the state’s pension systems and approving low-income housing tax credits. The state treasurer’s office is on boards overseeing both of those programs.Malek’s decision to cut off investments from Chinese companies. Osmack said that Missouri needs to be cautious about abandoning China as a business partner, especially since they’re a major consumer of the state’s agriculture products. “There’s a way to make this work where we are not supporting communist nations to the detriment of the United States or our allies, while also maintaining strong economic ties that benefit Missouri farmers,” he said.What it was like to witness the skirmish at the Missouri State Fair between U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce.Whether Kunce can get the support of influential groups like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which often channels money and staff to states with competitive Senate elections.
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As Illinois receives praise for its cannabis equity efforts, stakeholders work on system’s flaws

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Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers.Illinois legalized medicinal marijuana beginning in 2014, then legalized it for recreational use in 2020. While the 2020 law legalized cannabis use for any adult age 21 or older, it did not expand licensing for medical dispensaries.Patients can purchase marijuana as part of the medical cannabis program at dual-purpose dispensaries, which are licensed to serve both medical and recreational customers. But dual-purpose dispensaries are greatly outnumbered by dispensaries only licensed to sell recreationally, and there are no medical-only dispensaries in the state.As another part of the adult-use legalization law, lawmakers created a “craft grow” license category that was designed to give more opportunities to Illinoisans hoping to legally grow and sell marijuana. The smaller-scale grow operations were part of the 2020 law’s efforts to diversify the cannabis industry in Illinois.Prior to that, all cultivation centers in Illinois were large-scale operations dominated by large multi-state operators. The existing cultivators, mostly in operation since 2014, were allowed to grow recreational cannabis beginning in 2019.Until recently, dual-purpose dispensaries have been unsure as to whether craft-grown products, made by social equity licensees — those who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area or have been historically impacted by the war on drugs — can be sold medicinally as part of a patient’s medical allotment.Erin Johnson, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight officer, told Capitol News Illinois last month that her office has “been telling dispensaries, as they have been asking us” they can now sell craft-grown products to medical patients.“There was just a track and trace issue on our end, but never anything statutorily,” she said.
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Capitol News IllinoisThe graphic shows how cannabis grown in Illinois gets from cultivation centers to customers.
No notice has been posted, but Johnson’s verbal guidance comes almost two years after the first craft grow business went online in Illinois.It allows roughly 150,000 medical patients, who dispensary owners say are the most consistent purchasers of marijuana, to buy products made by social equity businesses without paying recreational taxes. However — even as more dispensaries open — the number available to medical patients has not increased since 2018, something the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office “desperately” wants to see changed. Johnson said Illinois is a limited license state, meaning “there are caps on everything” to help control the relatively new market.Berwyn Thompkins, who operates two cannabis businesses, said the rules limited options for patients and small businesses.“It’s about access,” Thompkins said. “Why wouldn’t we want all the patients — which the (adult-use) program was initially built around — why wouldn’t we want them to have access? They should have access to any dispensary.”Customers with a medical marijuana card pay a 1% tax on all marijuana products, whereas recreational customers pay retail taxes between roughly 20 and 40% on a given cannabis product, when accounting for local taxes.While Illinois has received praise for its equity-focused cannabis law, including through an independent study that showed more people of color own cannabis licenses than in any other state, some industry operators say they’ve experienced many unnecessary hurdles getting their businesses up and running.The state, in fact, announced last month that it had opened its 100th social equity dispensary.But Steve Olson, purchasing manager at a pair of dispensaries (including one dual-purpose dispensary) near Rockford, said small specialty license holders have been left in the lurch since the first craft grower opened in October 2022.“You would think that this would be something they’re (the government) trying to help out these social equity companies with, but they’re putting handcuffs on them in so many different spots,” he said. “One of them being this medical thing.”Olson said he contacted state agencies, including the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, months ago about whether craft products can be sold to medical patients at their retail tax rate, but only heard one response: “They all say it was an oversight.”This potentially hurt social equity companies because they sell wholesale to dispensaries and may have been missing out on a consistent customer base through those medical dispensaries.Olson said the state’s attempts to provide licensees with a path to a successful business over the years, such as with corrective lotteries that granted more social equity licenses, have come up short.“It’s like they almost set up the social equity thing to fail so the big guys could come in and swoop up all these licenses,” Olson said. “I hate to feel like that but, if you look at it, it’s pretty black and white.”Olson said craft companies benefit from any type of retail sale.“If we sell it to medical patients or not, it’s a matter of, ‘Are we collecting the proper taxes?’ That’s all it is,” he said.State revenue from cannabis taxes, licensing costs and other fees goes into the Cannabis Regulation Fund, which is used to fund a host of programs, including cannabis offense expungement, the general revenue fund, and the R3 campaign aiming to uplift disinvested communities.For fiscal year 2024, nearly $256 million was paid out from Cannabis Regulation Fund for related initiatives, which includes almost $89 million transferred to the state’s general revenue fund and more than $20 million distributed to local governments, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.Medical access still limitedThe state’s 55 medical dispensaries that predate the 2020 legalization law, mostly owned by publicly traded multistate operators that had been operating in Illinois since 2014 under the state’s medical marijuana program, were automatically granted a right to licenses to sell recreationally in January 2020. That gave them a dual-purpose license that no new entrants into the market can receive under current law.Since expanding their clientele in 2020, Illinois dispensaries have sold more than $6 billion worth of cannabis products through recreational transactions alone.Nearly two-thirds of dispensaries licensed to sell to medical patients are in the northeast counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will. Dual-purpose dispensaries only represent about 20 percent of the state’s dispensaries.While the state began offering recreational dispensary licenses since the adult-use legalization law passed, it has not granted a new medical dispensary license since 2018. That has allowed the established players to continue to corner the market on the state’s nearly 150,000 medical marijuana patients.But social equity licensees and advocates say there are more ways to level the playing field, including expanding access to medical sales.Johnson, who became the state’s top cannabis regulator in late 2022, expressed hope for movement during the fall veto session on House Bill 2911, which would expand medical access to all Illinois dispensaries.“We would like every single dispensary in Illinois to be able to serve medical patients,” Johnson said. “It’s something that medical patients have been asking for, for years.”Johnson said the bill would benefit patients and small businesses.“It’s something we desperately want to happen as a state system, because we want to make sure that medical patients are able to easily access what they need,” she said. “We also think it’s good for our social equity dispensaries, as they’re opening, to be able to serve medical patients.”Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who was the first statewide project coordinator for Illinois’ medical cannabis program prior to joining the legislature, wrote in an email to Capitol News Illinois that the state needs to be doing more for its patients.“Illinois is failing the state’s 150,000 medical cannabis patients with debilitating conditions. Too many are still denied the patient protections they deserve, including access to their medicine,” Morgan wrote, adding he would continue to work with stakeholders on further legislation.Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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