In August 2022, Illinois finally resumed the process of establishing a robust and equitable recreational cannabis industry, with cannabis retail licenses finally being issued to 185 winners after over a year of delays. There have been rumors for months of a retail cannabis store opening in the former AT&T location at 9th and Chestnut. But Mayor Joe Judge says while nothing’s official, we should know soon…

Out of the 185 latest license winners, only four are in non-metropolitan areas of southern Illinois like Mt. Carmel and Grayville. In fiscal year 2022, the state saw $1.5 billion in cannabis sales with the state collecting $443 million in taxes. Municipalities’ share of the taxes was $146 million in the latest fiscal year, up 77% from the previous year.