Springfield changes possession law

February 25, 2009
By Luke Runyon
Staff Writer

Possession of marijuana in the city of Springfield will no longer be a sure fire way of being put in Sangamon County Jail.

Springfield City Council passed a city ordinance on Feb. 3 decriminalizing marijuana within city limits. Individuals who are found in possession of 2.5 grams or less of the drug will find themselves under the discretion of the officer, says the new ordinance.

Officers who find themselves in the situation will have two options. If it is a first time offense and the suspect has a relatively clean record with the police, he or she will most likely receive a fine of $300. However, if a suspect has a more lengthy record with law enforcement, the offender will most likely be arrested.

“There are some individuals that don’t deserve a break; they won’t get a break. We’ll just put the handcuffs on them and take them to Sangamon County Jail no matter what level of marijuana they have on them,” said Ralph Caldwell, Springfield Police Chief, during the meeting.

“If it’s just somebody that appears to have made a mistake and we get a chance to give them a break, then we’ll take them to the city ordinance side of the house,” Caldwell said.

The new ordinance is based off existing ordinances in other Illinois towns including Joliet, Aurora, Champaign-Urbana, and Bloomington. Caldwell stated that his department did research into the effectiveness of similar ordinances in those cities and found the results were mostly positive.

“They all love it. I was skeptical; I thought 'they’re going to tell us horrible stories.' They all came back saying it works wonders,” said Caldwell.

Alderman Gail Simpson proposed the new ordinance, citing its ability to generate revenue for the city’s tight budget.

Alderman Tim Griffin ended up voting in the minority to not pass the ordinance, citing the amount of discretion already given to officers.

“If we start advertising that it’s at the discretion, next thing we know it’s discriminatory because this guy got a ticket and I went to jail,” said Griffin.

“I think we’re going down a path we probably don’t need to go,” he added.
Alderman Sam Cahnman felt that a person caught with a small amount of marijuana should not be arrested.

“I don’t think there’s any reason why an individual who’s caught with less than 2.5 grams of marijuana should be charged with a criminal offense and have a criminal record,” said Cahnman.

He added, “I think this is a good ordinance and I think the police are smart enough and they can exercise their discretion wisely.”