By Haley Kosik/WJEZ News
Two topics were discussed at a breakfast seminar in Springfield yesterday.
Attorney Chrissie Peterson, with law firm Heyl, Royster, Volker, and Allen, was one of the presenters at the seminar hosted by Springfield-Area Chamber of Commerce, discussing medical marijuana and concealed guns in the workplace.
Peterson said businesses have the rights to use medical marijuana, and so should employees.
Peterson said, “Employers in Illinois are allowed to have drug-free workplace policies, and the medical marijuana act doesn’t alter that right of employers, but it does make them take into consideration how medical marijuana may be used to treat the symptoms of an underlying serious condition.”
Peterson said in terms of the state’s concealed carry law, employers have two main questions: can an employer prohibit anyone from walking in with a concealed gun? And, can they prohibit an employee from having a gun at the workplace? The answer to both is yes.
But employers are still concerned about liability if an incident were to occur.
Peterson said liability will depend on whether the business allows guns or not.
Also in Springfield, Illinois lawmakers have not run out of things to discuss, and now that the governor has vetoed a $36 billion spending bill that would take effect Wednesday, there is a problem.
“Revenue enhancements, revenue increases and tax increases are going to be on the table, and that’s going to be a part of the negotiation,” said State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield).
The governor signed a measure to fund K-12 Education and Early Childhood Education on Wednesday.
“The Speaker of the House and President of the Senate have admitted the General Assembly’s budget is unbalanced,” the governor wrote in his veto message. “The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget concurs, calculating that this budget is nearly $4 billion out of balance.”
“He should have come to us and helped us find a negotiated solution to the budget,” said State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago). “I think what he wants, though, is to push his anti-union agenda instead.”
The General Assembly is back in town next Tuesday and Wednesday to try hammering out a deal. It’s been convening once a week all this month, but has largely avoided budget discussions minus the occasional news conference from House Speaker Mike Madigan and Gov. Bruce Rauner.
“It is good the House set the wheels in motion on Wednesday for a Committee of the Whole hearing on agency preparations for the government shutdown,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) in a statement. “It seems the Governor missed an opportunity to avoid disrupting the lives of many, many middle class families for the sake of non budget issues.”
