Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The
Department will publish an online application for applicants on the
Department's website. Paper applications will not be accepted.
b) After publishing the online application,
the application submission window shall remain open for submissions for a
minimum of 10 business days. Applications must be submitted by 5:00 P.M.
Central Time on the last day of the application submission window and no
applications will be accepted after the application submission window
closes.
c) A principal officer
cannot be on more than one application. The Department shall require that all
applicants provide each of its principal officers' Social Security Numbers or
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, and any other unique, identifying
information, required in the application to ensure that an individual principal
officer is not listed as a principal officer on more than one
application.
d) All applicants
shall pay a non-refundable application fee of $250, to be deposited into the
Cannabis Regulation Fund.
e) An
application shall be accepted only if it is complete. All incomplete
applications shall be denied. A completed application shall include the
nonrefundable fee and, at a minimum, the following information:
1) the applicant's proposed entity
name;
2) the name of the persons
filling out the application;
3) the
BLS Region in which the applicant is applying;
4) the names, Social Security Numbers or
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, home addresses, birthdates, phone
numbers, and email addresses, for all proposed principal officers of the
proposed entity;
5) the
identification of and contact information, including phone number and email
address, for a primary and alternate contact of the proposed entity, at least
one of whom must also be a principal officer;
6) an acknowledgment that if awarded an
opportunity for a conditional license in the lottery, the business entity is
51% or more owned or controlled by one or more individuals who each meet the
combination of at least one or the criteria under subsection (e)(6)(A)
(Criteria A) and one of the criteria under subsection (e)(6)(B) (Criteria B).
This does not mean multiple individuals need to meet identical criteria, but
each individual must meet at least one criteria from Criteria A and one
criteria from Criteria B.
A) Criteria A (only
1 required):
i) An individual who has resided
for at least 5 of the preceding 10 years in a census tract that has a poverty
rate of at least 20% according to the latest 5-year American Community Survey
(Table S1701: Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months) that is publicly available
at the start of the application submission window for the lottery conducted
under Sections 1291.400 through
1291.440. The data set is
available at
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=poverty%20rate&g=0100000US%241400000&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S1701;
ii) An individual who has resided for at
least 5 of the preceding 10 years in a census tract where at least 20% of the
households receive assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program in the latest 5-year American Community Survey (Table S2201: Food
Stamps/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)) that is publicly
available at the start of the application submission window for the lottery
conducted under Sections
1291.400 through 1291.440. The
data set is available at
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=snap%20participation&g=0100000US%241400000&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S2201;
iii) An individual who has resided for at
least 5 of the preceding 10 years in a census tract area classified as "low
income and low access" where at least 100 households are more than one-half
mile from the nearest supermarket and have no access to a vehicle or a
significant number (at least 500 people) or share (at least 33%) of the
population is greater than 1 mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or
large grocery store for an urban area or greater than 20 miles for a rural
area, as classified by the latest United States Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service's Food Access Research Atlas data set that is
publicly available at the start of the application submission window for the
lottery conducted under Sections
1291.400 through 1291.440. The
data set is available at the United States Department of Agriculture Economic
Research Service's Food Access Research Atlas, is available at
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas;
iv) An individual who has received Medicaid,
Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability, and/or subsidized
housing for at least 5 of the preceding 10 years; and/or,
v) An individual who has resided for at least
5 of the preceding 10 years in a census tract in the top
15th percentile for the percent of residents in the
census tract failing to graduate from High School in that state, as classified
by the latest 5-year American Community Survey (Table S1501: Educational
Attainment) that is publicly available at the start of the application
submission window for the lottery conducted under Sections
1291.400 through 1291.440. The
data set is available at
https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=s1501&g=0100000US,%241400000B) Criteria B (only 1 required);
i) An individual who has been arrested for,
convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense, or substantially
similar offense, of Illinois, federal or other state law for:
* possession of not more than 500 grams of cannabis;
or
* manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to
deliver, or manufacture of cannabis up to 30 grams;
ii) An individual who has a family member who
has been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for any offense,
or substantially similar offense, of Illinois, federal, or other state law for:
* possession of not more than 500 grams of cannabis;
or
* manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to
deliver, or manufacture or cannabis up to 30 grams.
iii) An individual who has been a victim of
firearm injury, as those terms are defined in this Part. This must be evidenced
by either a police report or medical record.
C) As soon a reasonably possible, but no
later than 5 business days prior to the acceptance of applications, the
Department shall make publicly available the documents applicants may use to
establish eligibility under both subsection (e)(6)(A) (Criteria A) and
subsection (e)(6)(B) (Criteria B).
7) An acknowledgment that if awarded a
conditional license, neither the entity nor any of its principal officers will
violate the Act's license number limitations.
8) The acknowledgement will also include a
statement or indication that the applicant understands the timeframes to do so
as required in this Part.
f) If an applicant fails to meet and prove
the criteria identified in subsection (e)(6)(A) (Criteria A) and subsection
(e)(6)(B) (Criteria B) within 45 calendar days after the date of the notice of
being a top participant from the Department and any required 10 business day
deficiency period or 5 business day intent to deny periods as those periods are
set forth in Section 1291.420, the Department shall
deny issuance of a conditional license and proceed to the next top participant
as described in Section
1291.405(c).
g) If two or more applications include the
same principal officer, the Department will notify the applicant at its
identified primary and alternate contacts and the principal officer who is
listed on two or more applications, via email. Upon this notification, the
identified principal officer has 3 business days to notify the Department of
its resignation from all but one of the proposed entities. This notification
shall be submitted to the Department in writing to
FPR.CannabisAdministration@illinois.gov. If the identified principal officer
does not notify the Department of the principal officer's required resignation
within the required time period, each applicant notified shall forfeit its
application and nonrefundable fee.
h) False Information
1) If the Department determines that any
information on an application or in supporting documents is not truthful, the
applicant associated with that application will be prohibited from:
A) participating in the lottery;
B) being a top participant; and
C) being issued a conditional license or
Adult Use Dispensing Organization License.
2) The Department shall notify the next
eligible top participant drawn by lot of its opportunity for the conditional
license, in accordance with Section
1291.405(c).
i) If a principal officer
identified on an application dies after the applicant has submitted its
application but prior to the conducting of any lottery, the applicant does not
need to inform the Department unless the applicant becomes a top participant
eligible for a conditional license after the lottery is conducted. If the
applicant becomes a top participant, the applicant is required to follow the
process identified in Section 1291.420.
j) The Department will only communicate with
the applicant or top participant's primary and alternate contact regarding the
applicant or top participant's application. In order to change its primary or
alternate contact information, an applicant or a top participant must submit a
request to change from the current primary or alternate contact email address
the Department has on record.
