Last verified: March 2026

The "Marijuana Moms"

The women who wrote the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act into existence:

Toi Hutchinson

Former Illinois State Senator and the primary architect of the CRTA's social equity framework. After the law passed, she became Illinois's cannabis czar (Senior Advisor on Cannabis Control) at $220,000/year, overseeing the equity programs she designed. Subsequently became President and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the nation's largest cannabis policy organization. Her trajectory from legislator to regulator to industry advocate represents the complex revolving door of cannabis politics.

Heather Steans

Former Illinois State Senator who co-sponsored the CRTA. Steans was a driving force behind the legislative mechanics of legalization, working to build the coalition that made Illinois the first state to legalize through its legislature. Her focus on social equity provisions helped ensure the law addressed criminal justice reform alongside commercial regulation.

Kelly Cassidy

Illinois State Representative and one of the earliest and most persistent voices for legalization in Springfield. Cassidy pushed legalization bills for years before the political moment arrived, and she was instrumental in shaping the CRTA's consumer protections and criminal justice provisions.

Jehan Gordon-Booth

Illinois State Representative who focused on ensuring the CRTA's equity provisions had teeth. Gordon-Booth pushed for specific reinvestment mechanisms, community input requirements, and accountability measures in the licensing process.

MSO Leadership

The executives who built Chicago into the corporate capital of cannabis:

Charlie Bachtell — Cresco Labs

CEO of Cresco Labs. Built the company into the largest cannabis wholesaler in the United States. Cresco's Sunnyside dispensary chain and its cultivation operations span multiple states. Q4 2025 revenue: $162 million. 2024 operating cash flow: $132 million. Sunnyside's Wrigleyville location (21 POS terminals, 400 feet from Wrigley Field) is one of the highest-traffic dispensaries in America.

Ben Kovler — Green Thumb Industries (GTI)

Founder and CEO of GTI, established in 2014. Built what is widely considered the most profitable public cannabis company in the country. 108 RISE dispensaries across 14 states. Approximately 4,900 employees. Q2 2025 revenue: $293 million. Brand portfolio: RYTHM, Dogwalkers, incredibles, Beboe. The GTI + Salt Shed music venue partnership is one of the most visible cannabis-entertainment integrations nationally.

George Archos — Verano Holdings

Founder and CEO of Verano Holdings. Operates 96+ Zen Leaf dispensaries across 15 states. Verano's West Loop, Rogers Park, and Pilsen locations serve key Chicago neighborhoods. The company faces an $860 million lawsuit from Vireo Growth related to a failed acquisition, which has significantly impacted its public standing.

Social Equity Pioneers

Ivy Hall

61% Black-owned, Ivy Hall has grown to 8 dispensary locations, making it the largest social equity dispensary operation in the Chicago area. The Bucktown location (1720 N. Damen) is the flagship. Ivy Hall represents what the equity framework was designed to create: a substantial, multi-location business owned primarily by people from communities impacted by the War on Drugs.

The Grasshopper Club

The Grasshopper Club is a social equity dispensary co-owned by the Brewer family — the same family that owns the legendary Wiener Circle on North Clark Street. The South Loop location (58 E. Roosevelt) and Logan Square location connect the brand to two distinct Chicago neighborhoods. The Brewer family's pivot from Chicago's iconic late-night hot dog stand to cannabis retail is one of the city's great entrepreneurial stories.

Spark'd

Founded by the Foster sisters, Spark'd operates social equity dispensaries including the Wicker Park location (1212 N. Ashland) and a South Loop store. The Foster sisters represent the female entrepreneurship that the CRTA's equity provisions were partly designed to support.

SWAY

SWAY in Boystown holds the distinction of being Illinois's first LGBTQ+/BIPOC-owned dispensary. Its location in one of Chicago's most iconic neighborhoods connects cannabis retail to the city's LGBTQ+ community and history.

Dispensary 33

While not a social equity license holder, Dispensary 33 holds a unique place in Chicago cannabis history: it hosted the first legal recreational cannabis sale in Illinois on January 1, 2020, at its Andersonville location (5001 N. Clark). The company is employee-owned, operating a cooperative model rare in cannabis. Its West Loop location (1152 W. Randolph) sits on Restaurant Row.

Cultural Voices

Vic Mensa & Towkio — 93 Boyz

Founders of 93 Boyz, the first Black-owned cannabis brand in Illinois. Both are members of Chicago's SaveMoney hip-hop collective. The brand launched in partnership with Aeriz and extends beyond product into social initiatives: Books Before Bars (books for incarcerated people) and Free Smoke Medical (community medical cannabis access). Vic Mensa has spoken powerfully about losing family members to cannabis-related violence before legalization.

Chef Manny Mendoza — Herbal Notes

Founder of Herbal Notes in Pilsen, offering THC-infused multi-course dining experiences. Mendoza bridges Chicago's world-class food scene with its cannabis culture, creating one of the most distinctive cannabis experiences in any American city. His perspective on how the War on Drugs shapes Chicago's cannabis culture distinct from West Coast markets is essential context.

Mindy Segal

James Beard Award-winning pastry chef who brought culinary credibility to cannabis edibles with her Mindy's Edibles line. The Glazed Clementine Orange gummies set a quality standard in Illinois and connected cannabis to Chicago's celebrated food culture.

Craft Growers

Illinois issued 88 craft grow licenses as part of its equity framework, but only 13 are operational as of 2026. The craft grow sector faces enormous barriers: 5,000 sq ft canopy caps, capital requirements, real estate challenges, and competition from MSO-scale cultivation. The operators who have made it through represent persistence against structural odds.

Notable craft-adjacent brands include Prairie Cannabis, which markets itself with Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Midwest identity, positioning itself as a deliberate alternative to West Coast cannabis aesthetics.

The Bigger Picture

Chicago's cannabis ecosystem is defined by the tension between these groups: the MSO executives who control the industry, the equity entrepreneurs fighting for a foothold, the legislators who designed the framework, and the artists and chefs who give the culture its character. Understanding who these people are is essential to understanding Chicago cannabis.