A Chicago lawmaker plans to try again next spring to drop criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Democratic Rep. Kelly Cassidy plans to announce her proposal Thursday in Chicago.

The legislation would replace criminal penalties in Illinois with a civil fine for possession of a personal amount of marijuana.

The General Assembly endorsed a Cassidy-sponsored plan last spring to impose fines for possession of marijuana, but Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner used his power to rewrite legislation to lower the amount of pot allowed and impose higher fines.

The Legislature took no action to overturn the veto.

With about a dozen people on hand, Chicago's first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors in Uptown on Wednesday.

“We’ve been working so hard for so long," co-owner Zachary Zises told RedEye before the 11 a.m. opening of Dispensary 33 at 5001 N. Clark St.

It's among a handful of dispensaries that have opened statewide in recent weeks, two years after state lawmakers approved a medical marijuana program.

Only registered medical marijuana patients will be able to get past the waiting room area to the retail area, he said. 

Illinois officials say the state's first medical marijuana patients have purchased nearly $801,000 worth of cannabis during the program's first month.

Program director Joseph Wright announced the figures Wednesday. The numbers indicate Illinois has collected roughly $56,550 in taxes from wholesale sales of medical marijuana during the month. Marijuana wholesalers pay a 7 percent tax to the state.

Wright says licensed dispensaries have served 1,713 unique patients. That's nearly half the 3,600 patients who have been approved for the program.

Legal marijuana sales began Nov. 9 in Illinois. There are now 16 licensed dispensaries operating in Illinois.

With medical marijuana dispensaries now open in Illinois, a Chicago chef has become the first to launch a line of marijuana edibles attached to her personal brand of sweets.

Mindy Segal, of Mindy's Hot Chocolate, announced her new line of infused products Monday. They will include chocolate brittle bars, granola bites, a warm chocolate drink and ready-made mix with do-it-yourself instructions, according to a press release.

To produce the new sweets, Segal partnered with Cresco Labs, Illinois' largest cannabis cultivator. The products are expected to be available for distribution in late February.

Prominent Chicago chef Mindy Segal announced Tuesday she plans to create a line of cannabis-infused edible products for medical marijuana patients.

Segal, the owner of HotChocolate restaurant in Bucktown, has agreed to make a line of products for Cresco Labs, which plans to operate three cultivation centers in Illinois, according to an announcement by the company. Cresco maintains Segal is the first James Beard Award-winning celebrity chef to endorse products for the cannabis industry.

WRIGLEYVILLE — Security plans for a proposed medical marijuana dispensary in Lakeview left some neighbors so satisfied they suggested nearby bars implement the same measures.

The 24/7 on-site security and extensive surveillance camera capabilities were enough to convince some that MedMar Inc. would successfully operate at 3812 N. Clark St.

CHICAGO– Almost two years after Illinois chose medical cannabis users should not be forbidden from having guns, a number of clients received letters from state police informing them their firearms cards were being revoked.

Although the company firmly insists the letters were sent out to just four people prior to the error was fixed, some cannabis fans state the mistake symbolizes an underlying ambivalence about medical marijuana in the 23 states where it’s now legal.

For example, a checklist for firearm owners on the Illinois State Police website includes this demand: “I am not a medical marijuana client registry card holder.” That, too, was an error that a supplier is now working to get rid of from the site, ISP representative Matt Boerwinkle said.

With the legal marijuana industry starting to heat up in Chicago, a monthly cannabis meetup is launching to connect medical marijuana enthusiasts and give resources to budding entrepreneurs.

A physician accused of violating Illinois' medical marijuana law could lose his license in a case critics say highlights the state's strict enforcement.

Dr. Bodo Schneider is accused of charging patients for marijuana recommendations without a legitimate doctor-patient relationship.

His case came before an administrative law judge Tuesday in Chicago. Attorneys say they're negotiating a possible settlement.

The case highlights how Illinois and other states handle doctors who cater to marijuana-seeking patients, though it isn't the first time Schneider has faced trouble.

WSIL -- Medical marijuana may be legal in Illinois, but the Associated Press has found the state is cracking down on at least three physicians over the issue.

The AP says a Marion physician is among them.

He's Doctor Bodo Schneider and News 3 did a story on him back in May as the state was preparing to make medical marijuana legally available.

Dr. Schneider could get his medical license revoked at a hearing on Tuesday.

News 3 was unable to reach him Sunday because his office was closed.

But the Chicago Sun-Times says state regulators accuse him of "charging dozens of patients to pre-certify them to receive medical marijuana despite not being their treating physician --- which is required under Illinois law."