Evergreen Park puts off vote on marijuana dispensary, will hold second public hearing

Evergreen Park residents and a marijuana dispensary operator will have another chance to express their views at a public hearing June 17.

A standing room crowd attended the April 15 public hearing on a proposal by a Chicago-based marijuana company to open a store in the former Scott Credit Union at 9122 S. Kedzie Ave.

“The residents raised some really good points and the petitioner wanted an opportunity to address them,” said Village Trustee Norman Anderson.

So a second public hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 17 in the Village Hall Board Room, 9418 S. Kedzie Ave.

Evergreen Park Mayor Kelly Burke said some people who spoke at the April 15 hearing were against the proposal and some were in favor of the village getting its first marijuana dispensary.

“It’s a mixed bag.”

Burke said she also has heard a variety of opinions from residents she meets and in emails she has received.

The 1937 Group, named for the Marihuana Act of 1937, is requesting an ordinance change and special use permit to open in Evergreen Park.

Marijuana stores have spread throughout Illinois since recreational use of the drug became legal in the state in 2020. The state lists more than 70 cannabis dispensaries open in Cook County, including in Burbank, Chicago Ridge and Tinley Park, as of May 21, 2024, but none have yet received zoning approval in Evergreen Park.

“There isn’t a cannabis dispensary within 3 1/2 miles of Evergreen Park,” Sonia Antolec, the chief legal officer for 1937 Group, said in April. “That revenue is going and those jobs are going to other communities.”

People at the April 15 public hearing questioned company officials about their revenue projections, security at the business and its traffic impact.

Kimberly Fornek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.