A bill that would have imposed regulations on new types of intoxicating substances derived from hemp stalled in the Illinois House Tuesday, dealing a political setback to Gov. JB Pritzker after he strongly supported the legislation.
"I was tremendously disappointed," Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday after it became clear the bill would not be called for a vote in the House. "This is a demonstration, from my perspective, of the power of special interests and the money that they spread around to thwart the health and safety of the public."
But the bill also created rifts within the House Democratic caucus. According to several sources, the hemp regulation bill was the focus of a three-hour closed-door caucus meeting Monday that some House members described afterward as "spirited" but others described as "raucous."
Pritzker also called Democratic House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch's decision not to call the bill "irresponsible," saying he believed it would have passed with a bipartisan majority had he done so. And he criticized House Democrats for the treatment of members of his staff who appeared at Monday's caucus meeting.
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