>> Hello and thanks for joining us on Chicago Brandis Friedman.

Here's what we're looking at.

Some THC drinks will become banned in Illinois this week.

Why lawmakers are cracking down and how local businesses could be impacted.

Plus efforts to ban books in schools and libraries reached a fever pitch last year.

A look at what some of those books were and what they had in common.

First off tonight, Republicans select their next leaders when the new Congress is sworn in early next year.

>> Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio was chosen as House minority leader in a secret ballot vote today while Republicans re-elected John Thune of South Dakota in the Senate, Jordan is a prominent MAGA figure in currently chairs.

The House Judiciary Committee in previously chaired the Oversight Committee.

He lead GOP investigations into attorneys who prosecuted President Trump, including former special counsel Jack Smith.

The move comes after the Republican Party's sweeping midterm losses in last week's election.

As Democrats flipped both the House and Senate.

Meanwhile, Democrats have yet to select their leaders, but the early frontrunner for the House speaker is Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Chuck Schumer in the Senate.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and a majority of city council members are at odds over the mayor's proposed budget as hearings come to an end.

28 members penned a letter to the mayor today seeing his 17.6 billion dollar plan doesn't have the votes to pass.

The older people say they are against ahead tax that would impose $25 per month per employee on all firms with more than 125 employees increasing personal property lease taxes 15 to 20% and adding an additional 131 million dollars for another mental health clinic, 7,000 youth jobs and reducing the amount of unhoused Chicagoans speaking outside to mental health clinics today.

Johnson had this to say in response.

>> All of us have a responsibility to deliver for working people, right?

I'm going to continue to have substantive conversations with alders all across the city.

Here's the power in this moment.

>> Name one alderman that will come out loud and say we don't want the investments.

>> As and so if they want the investments and they have to be, you know, committed to this ongoing process as I am.

No one has come up with a viable solution other than saying what they do not want.

And so people have to come to the table saying what they do, what what are they willing to do?

>> City Council has until the end of December to pass a budget.

For more details on the proposal, you can check out our Web site.

Should be a cute kitty.

But this is not to be takeaways, especially now that she's on the road to recovery.

The DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center says this bobcat was found semi-conscious in a homeowner's front yard apparently after being struck by a vehicle last week after an ultrasound, X-rays, blood work and a tooth surgery.

The bobcat who was, quote, pretty gosh, spicy in the beginning is now recuperating before she can be released back into the wild.

The cats are more commonly found in the southern 3rd of Illinois, but they are dispersed throughout the state.

It might be tempting to mistake them for just really big house cats.

But they are actually fierce predators capable of taking down dear.

So no, trying to domesticate them.

Okay.

Reaction to the upcoming local ban on hemp based drinks.

That's right.

After this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexandra and John Nichols family.

The Joyce Foundation.

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support of these donors.

>> Hemp based drinks containing more than point for work or for tense milligrams of THC are set to be banned in Illinois this week.

It comes as state lawmakers cite concerns about potential health risks and marketing aimed at underage consumers.

But others say that banning these drinks could create unsafe alternatives and her businesses.

Joining us with more are James Swartz, a professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago's College of Social Work, Stephen co-founder of Hopewell Brewing Company and State representative will cause already whose district includes parts of Logan Square Portage Park and felt like Reagan.

Thanks to the 3 of you for joining us.

I'm James starting with you.

What THC infused drinks are different or what about them is different from alcoholic beverages or cannabis products.

There's a lot different from alcoholic beverages, right?

The difference being the intoxicant in the in the >> In the THC based a hemp hemp drinks.

There's THC, right?

And that's the main.

thing that gets you high Wright similar to cannabis products.

This really the same drug.

Compared with alcohol, which is, of course alcohol.

strikes are very different intoxicants.

So there's there's a big distinction between them.

main drug just getting you high in the drink, of course, how I guess How is that high different right?

>> What's does that and how is the high different, right?

What look, what are people looking for?

Is it just they're all sort of the press and some aren't.

>> They it in effect.

They all are depressants.

But you can compare it to having 2 or 3 martinis was smoking a joint, You're going to feel that difference.

That alcohol gives you sort of very different, maybe more of an up buzz where THC based drinks are going to give you a little bit milder track.

More tranquilizing effect.

alcohol beverage.

>> Stephen, what kind of THC beverages t brew at Hopewell?

Absolutely.

So we're a small business and Logan Square, Chicago.

So we've make craft beer and our hope up.

But we also have our brand called tune of Teach the bet today's beverages.

There are, you know, low calorie, they're fun.

They're enjoyable.

And it's just a great alternative.

It's a great way to invite more people into the space.

Not everyone wants to drink craft beer every day.

Not everyone wants to drink wine every day I drink coffee every day about, you know, maybe not.

So it's just part of the natural beverage ecosystem that we're seeing.

All of our customers enjoy.

That's kind of our exist reason to exist, bringing more people.

And so it's been a great way just to have more people come in and enjoy different beverage and likely could not substitute one of these beverages for the everyday coffee.

>> But I imagine like they'd gotten more popular as with the increase of people who are sober, curious or leaning toward sobriety, hugely south.

before we we were thinking or is this just for one segment, you know, non drinker, someone not ring and it's, you know, maybe they're not drinking that day.

Maybe they're done drinking that they they want to switch it up.

Maybe you had a beer and you know, you want to try to see track, maybe not drinking for the month, but >> it really just invites and entirely different customer and allows more people to interact in a social setting.

All of that said, how do you expect this upcoming ban might impact your business and the customers who enjoy those drinks it?

It's a disaster.

We're a small business.

We're having a good year.

We're growing.

We're paying down debt.

We're doing the right things that a small business should do, right.

But instead, now we're looking at this year and we're looking at layoffs and how do we survive the winter?

Representative?

Because already the him business, it's a half a billion dollar industry in Illinois generating 30 million in annual tax revenue for the state.

>> Are you concerned at all this ban might impact the state's economy?

Maybe put people out of a job?

>> You know, we're we're working within the framework that the federal government set up.

I want to step back for your viewers.

Might not be familiar with the different stream, hemp and cannabis.

That's the same plant contains the same molecule 10 years ago.

The federal government said there's a line in the sand.

Hemp contains very hemp plants are plants that contain very low amounts of THC.

Cannabis plants contain more than that.

I'm out cannabis as a schedule.

One narcotics like heroin or fentanyl.

Hemp is like flex are cognizant of agricultural product in those 10 years.

Scientists, chemists have figured out ways of extracting the THC from the very low THC, hemp plant concentrating it and making more potent products.

So those are regulated like cotton or flex like agricultural products, which is why you see these intoxicating THC products like hopefuls products and like all kinds of other products being sold all over the place, not just at cannabis dispensaries, but grocery stores and liquor stores and gas stations and everywhere else, they're not regulated.

They're not tested.

They tell you how much the issue have some companies test and tell you are measuring a very scientifically some who knows where they're getting these numbers from the products coming in from China from overseas, from other states are cannabis industry is very regulated test.

That's all I So the federal government changes mind.

They said never mind about that rule.

We past 10 years ago.

All of these products are cannabis and their schedule.

One narcotics like cocaine and heroin.

So our state is just moving to align with that upcoming federal change follow the regulations that we expect to see from Washington.

So, James, until until now, until the band, the proposed ban are almost ban the products have gone widely unregulated in the state.

>> Does the lack of strict regulation make it more likely for these products to fall into the wrong hands?

Underage minors, for example, under 21.

Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely.

Since there's no one.

>> The the studies that I've seen coming out of other states and Illinois suggest that age verification is fairly lax in the store.

So, you know, miners can come in buy these products off the shelf there as intoxicating as the products sold to a licensed dispensaries.

So it's been a big concern that the lack of any regulation has led to them falling into the hands of of youth.

Let me just add briefly that use that as intoxicating.

The fact is that they're often much more intoxicating cause.

>> Regulated cannabis dispensaries have potency caps on the products they can.

So they can only be someone, you grams out in the street and unregulated hemp industry.

products can have whatever potency one you have a package of 10 or 2050 milligram gummies, which is very, very potent.

If your viewers are familiar and that could be sold to anyone without age verification without safety testing.

So the unregulated space of just can't persist.

And the longer it's going to that point, you know, you're one of the sponsors of the Illinois him act.

Why do you feel it's better to ban the drinks rather than to regulate them and some of those concerns you name?

I got to tell you, I would love to see a world in which low potency beverages, an edible products that our drive from THC were available in more places than just dispensaries.

I think hope one of the really responsible actors in this space.

They test their product.

They label it.

They hk that.

But under the federal rules that are coming to effect next month.

That's not impossible.

The federal rules are very, very rigid about how you can do cannabis hemp products are going to Canada starting next month today.

There have next month.

They're going to be cannabis.

So we need business in our state to comply with cannabis law.

Otherwise they're going to be in trouble.

So I would just say that we have been asking for years for sensible regulations.

The things you're talking about, some of 21 plus rights on to licensed retailers.

are obvious things and choices that haven't been made.

>> I frankly find it ridiculous that we are making the choice as a business to card people.

21 plus, you know, to make these choices to do it the right way.

No one from the state or any agency has never once asked us to do these normal regulatory things that, you know, honestly, it's the boring part of government that keeps us safe right?

So I 100% agree these need to be regulated.

This needs to be fixed.

Instead, we're looking at a ban that like you're describing, punishes the good actors.

And I think honestly allows for the bad actors who might already want to skirt the rules to flourish.

You know, where we have an app to marketplace.

These are on the shelves and this is a customer that already exists that wants to buy these products that wants to enjoy them.

Normal adult decisions during their grocery shopping.

And we're just taking them away.

Stephen, are you are you concerned that, you know, this legislation will encourage people will create a black market or encourage people to seek >> unsafe alternatives.

I can't help.

But look at.

I mean, I come from craft beer, right?

I'll call producer and we did prohibition a century ago.

Right?

And alcohol went.

>> Nowhere right.

Instead of a safe regulated market, we went to a fully unregular market.

I never knows the problems that flowed from there.

I think needs to be regulated.

Lodo states.

The beverages along on shelves with craft beer and a normal place where an adult would buy and kids can't access it.

Those are problems that we can solve those problems that we already know the answers to.

And instead our legislators, our Governor Pritzker has decided I don't think that that actually solves the problem of an adult go into a store, buying a beverage off the shelf that they should have access Just to say that I agree with Stephen in principle, the House for work, but I think what he's not mentioning is that the federal government made this change that's going to take effect on December.

11th and >> unless you know that there's some talk about maybe they're going to do things differently there to go to Congress and undo that decision.

But assuming that they don't and this law takes effect at the federal level next month.

Stevens Business and all the other businesses were trying to do have the right way are not gonna be able to because they're moving their pride in from out of state.

They're being violated federal law and big legal trouble.

If a federal law is already off on the way, why implement a state ban?

>> Yes, we him the law that we passed in May that a lot of things, one of them was to align our state law with the federal law to pick the same effective date, which is tomorrow November.

11th terms the legislature adjourned, the federal government push that effective day back a month.

So that's why there's a slight gap and effective dates.

if the federal government decides they want to completely change course and do things really differently than the state of Illinois will get back together and think about how we can align with that direction.

Instead, what's frustrating is a small businesses federally today.

This is still fully legal and allowed.

>> And instead in 2 days, this is fully illegal in Illinois.

So we've now preempted this and it doesn't do us any good, right?

Like as a small business, we're ready to follow the rules.

But, you know, seeing Illinois misaligned with the federal government no longer aligned.

It seems like an easy thing to salt is a confusing, Steven, because I've also read that, you know, some retailers are trying to get this off of their shelves so that they're not in violation Salem for confuse.

I'm getting calls every day at the tap room are, you know, not just me, our business, but >> you know, hey, I heard that the federal extension, I or there's a lawsuit in Illinois that allows us all to an extra week like, look, I I don't know the answer to all these.

I'm not part of this lawsuit.

So it's it's creating mass confusion of retailers.

This morning.

I was talking to say.

>> Hey, I can keep buying for another week.

I'm not going to keep selling for another week because as far as I know, this is fully legal.

>> James, 15 to give the last word.

Do you think's going to happen here?

>> I think this is going.

I think this is going to pass there are it's going to continue on its current form.

I just want to make one quick point that the difference between prohibition and this is that you'll still be able to buy these intoxicating products.

You just got to buy them at the cannabis dispensaries, not at the mom and pop smoke shop.

So it's not an outright ban on these products.

It's an outright ban hemp derived products that are sold without regulation.

Ok, an excellent point to leave it on.

Thanks to the 3 of you for joining us.

And best of luck, James Representative will cause already.

And Stephen, both thanks, everybody.

Thank you.

>> Coming up, a University of Chicago scholar studying book bans.

She joins us next.

Illinois made ways becoming the first state in the U.S.

to ban book bans 3 years ago.

But efforts to censor books in schools and libraries across the country reached near high last year.

The American Library Association tracks challenges to more than 4200 unique titles last year.

That is the second highest ever documented by the group.

Nearly 40% of those challenge titles represented the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community and people of color and more than 90% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups.

Government officials and decision makers joining us to talk about this and the broader impact of book bans is don't see Hunter, the University of Chicago's inaugural banned books, postdoctoral scholar a joint appointment with you, Chicago Library and the Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and expression.

It's a fun title.

Thank you for joining us.

Tulsi congrats on the position.

Thank you very much for having me.

I am.

>> Honored and excited to be joining the University of Chicago as the initial inaugural banned books, postdoctoral research scholar as part of this collaboration.

Yeah.

In 2023, the Reagan Stein Library at the university established launch.

This ban books initiative and in collaboration with the Forum for free in Korean expression.

they have now brought in a dedicated, banned books, postdoctoral research scholar to year there and further, right.

You started started in September.

What is the idea behind a new position?

>> The idea is there would be a dedicated scholar, too.

>> Research the conditions and impacts a book banning and they were bringing in the position for someone who is researching book banning.

But from a distinct angle of interest.

So that's where my work comes in.

As someone who is studying book banning from a trauma informed perspective.

>> You are a long-time English language arts teacher in Florida.

And much of your research is about the impact of teaching banned books in the classroom.

What is the impact on students when books are banned from libraries or academic curriculum?

>> When books are banned at students are losing those opportunities to engage with diverse perspectives either experiences that they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to engage with stepping into the world of literature is one of the most powerful ways of experiencing the lived experience of another human being without actually going through that oneself.

So it there's a lot of power in that.

The opportunity to build in empathy, enhance one's understanding of other experiences that your own.

>> We hear about banned books a lot, of course, that people may not always know just how common some of these books actually are.

What are some books that people are familiar with that have been banned or challenged?

>> Probably most folks that you can think of from your high school, English language arts class room.

Many have been classically and classic and contemporary works have faced challenges or bans.

We have started and series called band and brilliant and through the Chicago for yes, the S and R my first choice for that series was Toni Morrison's, the bluest eye.

So we have classic works of literature that have been recognized for their literary merit.

Their importance such as the bluest eye but are widely facing book bans.

And most recent real was just released.

And that's Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, right?

Which everyone is familiar with, especially, you thanks to the success of Hulu series.

>> Were you surprised by the numbers from the American Library Association that efforts to censor books in schools and libraries have reached, you near high last year.

it's not necessarily surprised now on.

Unfortunately, this has been part of a trend in recent years intensifying.

And yes, last year was the second highest.

>> Percentage rate of of books that have been banned or challenged second only to 2023 and the margin was quite small.

The numbers were very close.

So >> you you speak with a lot of teachers.

And as a former teacher yourself, you experienced it firsthand as well.

How would you compare the experiences of teachers in Illinois with the in Florida over the topic of book bans and experiences.

>> Yes, I have engaged in conversations with teachers from all over the nation.

I'm still in the process of that work.

But local and state.

Legislation and mandates do make a big difference of how teachers are making meeting and experiencing the teaching of banned and challenged books.

So in talking with educators from Illinois, they are experiencing a very differently because, of course, they're kind of in the hot seat the way that some other teachers are in other areas of the country like in Florida, which is where I'm from.

But they are very supportive standing in solidarity and very concerned about the trends that they're seen nationally, even if they're not experiencing it in their own backyard because I can imagine teachers in Florida, you know, it's probably had a chilling effect you know, instilling a little bit of fear about what they can talk about, what they can teach.

That's right.

Yes.

>> Teachers experience a lot of fear and self-censorship in that chilling effect.

As you said, using words like I feel terrified.

I'm afraid I'll lose my job and possibly even face criminal charges.

And a lot of the language is ambiguous surrounding the laws.

So sometimes teachers are just not aware of what the repercussions will be.

So they take those safe choices instead of more potentially controversial or challenging difficult bucks.

There can be very different themes and some of these books, your research looks at the intersection of trauma and grief or loss in banned books.

>> What does it look like for teacher to help students unpack and engage in a difficult subject matter like those?

>> Yes, that's increasingly in interest and concern in education and educational scholarship better preparing teachers to engage with difficult works of literature, particularly with students who may also be experiencing effects of trauma in their own lives, but also for teachers who are experiencing trauma in their lives and how that me and him enter twine with the work that they and the complexities of engaging with literature like that.

So traditionally teacher prep for prep teacher.

Preparation programs have not really centered on those concerns.

And increasingly they are whether it's practices like Pentagon G or on better preparing teachers to meet those distinct needs.

>> You mentioned your monthly series on social media that highlights banned books.

Your first pick was Toni Morrison's first novel.

You mentioned the blue side.

The most recent one came out just today.

Margaret Atwood's, The Handmaid's Tale.

>> A few seconds left.

Why should people read or watch and more people read banned books?

>> Banned books.

Give us an opportunity to step into the world of another character and really enhance our broaden our perspective.

This is really about our shared humanity.

Our shared vulnerability and our shared responsibility.

2 up, hold each other.

Even when we face difficult and painful That is a good place to leave Thank you so much for joining us.

Congrats on the new positions also, Hunter, thank you so much about.

>> And that's our show for this Tuesday night.

The holidays are quickly approaching.

And since this special time of the year isn't just for kids.

>> We've compiled a bunch of adults only events happening across the Chicago area.

That's at W T Tw Dot com Slash news.

You can thank us later and join us tomorrow night at 5, 30 10 Republicans experienced major defeat in the midterm election.

Gop leaders discuss where the party goes from here locally and nationally.

Now for all of us here Chicago Brandis Friedman, thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good night.

>> Closed captioning is made possible by Robert a cliff and Clifford law offices, Chicago, personal injury and wrongful death that gives back to its