In September, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration made a splash by announcing Toi Hutchinson would oversee the implementation of Illinois’ new recreational cannabis program, laid out in landmark legislation the then-state senator played a key role in drafting.
The Chicago Tribune reports a Pritzker spokeswoman said in a Sept. 26 email that Hutchinson’s salary would be $220,000, and that “the title is in statute so it’s Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer,” a job quickly dubbed “pot czar.”
But when Hutchinson officially started work for the administration Nov. 4, it was as “Senior Adviser to the Governor on Cannabis Control.”
It’s unclear when the decision was made to give Hutchinson the senior adviser title. But appointing her to the job created in legislation she voted on could have run afoul of the state constitution.
