LANSING PURSUES LOCAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

Judges Request Ordinance To Avoid Getting Bogged Down With Minor Offenses

LANSING -- At the request of county judges, police have asked the Village
Board to enact Lansing's own ordinance regulating the possession of less
than 10 grams of marijuana.

Cook County Circuit Court judges in the 6th District in Markham would
prefer not to adjudicate many cases involving the possession of such small
amounts, considered a Class C misdemeanor, Police Chief Dan McDevitt said.

"It's viewed as a very minor offense," McDevitt said. "The courts in
Markham would rather not get bogged down with such minor offenses. This
would give us another tool locally that we could send to local court."

Violators of the proposed ordinance would appear before a hearing officer
in Lansing Municipal Court, instead of being ordered to appear in Markham.

Trustees are expected to approve the measure at their regular meeting next
Tuesday.

Trustee Bob Ryan, chairman of the board's Ordinance Committee, called the
proposal a "great initiative."

"My understanding now is the Lansing Police Department is basically wasting
their time because these cases are not moving through the courts," Ryan Said.

"This gives us something against small-time offenders," McDevitt said.

The supervising assistant state's attorney in Markham reviewed and approved
of Lansing's proposed law, the chief said.

"He said a lot of villages have it," he said. "He saw no problem with it."

Trustee Jack Hoekstra, chairman of the board's Public Safety and Welfare
Committee, said Lansing officials have long wanted to move the possession
cases into Municipal Court.

"We've been discussing it for some time," Hoekstra said. "We're trying to
get the village court ready for this."