In 2018, William Thomas C. was caught with 18 pounds of cannabis a few days after returning home from vacation with his grandchildren. He was charged with cannabis trafficking and manufacturing or delivering more than 5,000 grams of cannabis, according to court records. Before then, William, better known as Tom, ran a family farm and a lawn care business in Bloomington, Illinois. Since Tom has been serving a nine-year sentence at Centralia Correctional Center, his sister Tara C. has managed his businesses and talks with him several times a week.
The irony of Tom’s imprisonment isn’t lost on him and his family. Tom’s mother wondered why her son remained incarcerated even after the state legalized weed. He’s been asking Tara to research charitable organizations that could help him get released. Tara said she felt conflicted.
“My hope is that more progressive governors, like Governor Pritzker, will see this as an opportunity to further reduce their prison population, because there’s such an urgent health need right now,” Gersten said.
She went on to tout the Illinois State Police Department and the Illinois Prisoner Review Board’s efforts to expunge nearly 500,000 arrest records ahead of schedule. A spokesperson told the Sun-Times that the governor has pardoned more than 20,000 cannabis convictions. Meanwhile, State Representative Mary Flowers has introduced a bill that aims to automatically expunge criminal records and free people who are incarcerated for cannabis crimes.
“There’s a lot of instances where your rights are limited by the fact that it’s still illegal at the federal level,” Sharp said. “Even people who are using cannabis medically still have to worry about some of these federal repercussions.”
“I think in the new administration, we will see progress,” Gersten said. “I just think it defies logic for lawmakers to continue to believe that individuals should remain incarcerated while others are profiting off of this same activity.”
