Chicago. 6/25/19: Illinois legalizes recreational marijuana. Recreational marijuana is now roughly six months away from being legal across Illinois.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law Tuesday. That means residents 21 and over will be able to buy marijuana at dispensaries as soon as Jan. 1. Illinois now joins 10 other states that have legalized recreational marijuana. In Vermont and Washington, D.C., cannabis possession and cultivation is legal but sales are not regulated. While many in Illinois care about the practical implications — like when and where they can buy marijuana, the governor and the bill’s sponsors are emphasizing the social equity components of the comprehensive measure, which will automatically expunge the records of those with arrests for possessions 30 grams of marijuana and will also help minority communities become involved in the business. The governor noted black and white people in the state use the drug at similar rates, but “black people are far more likely to be arrested for possession.”
5/27/19: Use Of Controversial Weed Killer Glyphosate Skyrockets On Midwest Fields. Farmers have been using the weed killer glyphosate – a key ingredient of the product Roundup – at soaring levels even as glyphosate has become increasingly less effective and as health concerns and lawsuits mount.
Nationwide, the use of glyphosate on crops increased from 13.9 million pounds in 1992 to 287 million pounds in 2016, according to estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey. Christopher Walljasper of the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting takes a look at why farmers find it tough to do their jobs without glyphosate. A review of the agency’s data by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting shows that farmers across the Midwest used an estimated 188.7 million pounds of glyphosate in 2016 – nearly 40 times more than in 1992 when they used a total of 4.6 million pounds. The data for the year 2016 is the latest available. Farmers in those 12 states – including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska – grow most of the country’s soybean and corn crops.
Glyphosate’s start. 5/31: Illinois Ratifies the ERA : -) 2/15/19: It Costs ≈ 50X More to Make a Call From Illinois Jail Than From Illinois State Prison. 11/13/19: Illinois Senate passes bill to end clock change during daylight saving time. State lawmakers in the Illinois Senate advanced a proposal to do away with the unpopular practice of changing the clock twice a year.
This year alone, dozens of states saw attempts to end daylight saving time, the practice of turning back the clock an hour every November and an hour forward in March. A recent YouGov poll shows a majority of Americans – including 55% of Midwesterners – wish to end the practice. The Illinoisans among that group could soon receive that wish after the Illinois Senate passed Senate Bill 533 on Nov. 12. The proposal, which was introduced by state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, in January, would make March 2020 the last time Illinoisans change their clocks. 8/8: Trump May Grant Clemency to Blagojevich, Former Illinois Governor and 'Celebrity Apprentice' Contestant. We can no longer stick to the status quo because the trailer for Disney+’s upcoming “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” dropped during D23 Expo Friday, and we have zero chill about the first look at this ridiculously meta show.
In the 1-minute, 40-second video above, you’ll be introduced to the high schoolers who are going to play Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan and more of the classic characters from the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie “High School Musical” in their student production of a musical based on said movie. And their school happens to be the same one where the movie was filmed.
Yeah, see the meta now? Adding to the drama is that Ricky (Joshua Bassett), the guy playing Troy, and Nini (Olivia Rodrigo), the girl cast as Gabriella, are exes — and he’s looking to win her back. So, as one character puts it in the trailer, “Buckle up, Wildcats. Also Read: Disney+: All the Original TV Shows and Movies Set for Upcoming Streaming Platform (Photos) 1 of 31.