(WTTW News)

What’s it like to work in the marijuana industry? How do you start and grow a cannabis business? The city is gathering experts, advocates and others to answer these questions and more at a free event next month.

(Photo by Rick Proctor / Unsplash)

Recreational cannabis has been legal in Illinois for a week, but there’s still a lot of confusion over how the law is supposed to work. We clear the air.

(Lindsay Fox / Pixabay)

A deadly outbreak of vaping illnesses has been linked to black market products containing THC. But similar products are now sold legally at cannabis dispensaries across Illinois. Are they safe?

(WTTW News)

If the lines winding past cannabis dispensaries haven’t yet provided proof, numbers released by state officials Monday illustrate the demand for recreational marijuana. What to expect as a longtime underground market goes above board.

(Credit: Arizona PBS)

After selling like gangbusters on day one, legal marijuana transactions dropped off a bit, as expected, on day two. 

The launch of legal marijuana in Illinois. Chicago homicides drop for the third straight year. What the future holds for Chicago-based Boeing. And the Bears are all in on Mitchell Trubisky in 2020.

(Martijn / Flickr)

With recreational marijuana now legal, city and state officials are working to educate consumers about what’s permitted under the new law and how to use cannabis responsibly.

Dispensary 33 in Andersonville (WTTW News)

Just one day into the new decade – and one day into Illinois’ foray into legal marijuana – the state’s network of licensed cannabis dispensaries sold $3.17 million worth of recreational pot to 77,128 customers.

Jackie Ryan, right, of Forest Park, Ill., becomes the first person in Illinois to purchase recreational marijuana as she purchases marijuana products from employee Brea Mooney left, at Sunnyside dispensary Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo / Paul Beaty)

The sale of marijuana for recreational purposes became legal Wednesday in Illinois to the delight of pot fans — many who began lining up hours early at dispensaries.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx looks on as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during a press conference in Chicago after Foxx filed motions to vacate more than 1,000 low-level cannabis convictions, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Illinois’ governor granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions on Tuesday, describing the step as a first wave of thousands of such expungements anticipated under the state’s new marijuana legalization law. 

In Lakeview, workers were busy putting the finishing touches on the Sunnyside dispensary just two days before recreational marijuana becomes legal in Illinois. (WTTW News)

Are local officials and cannabis dispensaries ready for the rush of customers when recreational marijuana becomes legal Wednesday? We visit a pot shop in Lakeview to see how it’s gearing up for green.

In this Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019 photo, a registered medical marijuana patient looks at products at the Rise cannabis store in Mundelein, Illinois. Starting Jan. 1, 2020, Illinois will join Michigan as the only Midwestern states broadly allowing the sale and use of marijuana. (AP Photo / Nam Y. Huh)

As Illinois prepares to join the recreational market on Wednesday, officials are renewing warnings to consumers against carrying such products over state lines. 

With the new year come recreational marijuana, growing federal investigations, the search for a Chicago police superintendent and some soul-searching for the Bears. We peer into the crystal ball.

In less than a week, marijuana will be legal in Illinois. Cannabis dispensaries are preparing for long lines and excited customers, but it’s likely that not everyone who wants it will be able to legally buy it, at least not right away.

A push to delay pot sales in Chicago fails. President Trump is impeached by the House, but Senate trial details are uncertain. Former Assessor Joe Berrios is reportedly under federal investigation. And the Bears play on with the playoff out of reach.

Ald. Walter Burnett, left, clarifies his use of the word “bump” during a tension-filled City Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019. (WTTW News)

The measure to stall recreational marijuana sales in Chicago was defeated by a 29-19 vote Wednesday, but not before the proceedings devolved into a chaotic fight over the rules and rounds of political one-upmanship.