When “Protect the Kids” Quietly Disappears… You Know Who the Bill Was Really For

When “Protect the Kids” Quietly Disappears… You Know Who the Bill Was Really For

By F’nAround Media

Chicago politics has many traditions:

• Snow that never gets plowed on time.

• Aldermen who “don’t recall.”

• And bills that magically change shape the second someone with money gets nervous.

Today, we got a masterclass.

Remember how the proposed hemp ban was supposed to be about “protecting the kids”?

Big speeches. Emotional appeals.

A moral crusade wrapped in talking points so shiny you’d think they were focus-grouped in a kindergarten classroom.

Well… check the news now.

Suddenly, the entire justification vanished.

Gone. Poof. Never happened.

Now it’s all about restaurants, bars, and the food and beverage industry needing carve-outs so they don’t get hurt.

Hold on… what?

So the city’s moral panic the one that framed hemp as the danger to children quietly transformed into:

“Wait, wait, wait we can’t upset the hospitality lobby. Let’s slow this down.”

Because if the real goal was protecting minors, why does the bill fall apart the moment business donors raise an eyebrow?

Let’s break this down in Chicago terms:

1. The State already showed their hand.

Illinois regulators admitted the real pressure behind hemp restrictions was coming from cannabis companies, not child safety.

Kids weren’t the focus market protection was.

So the moral high ground was already mud.

2. The City tried to ride the same talking point.

“Protect the kids!” is always a great way to pass something quickly.

Until someone points out (check our last article) that:

• The only documented cases of kids interacting with THC products came from licensed cannabis companies,

• Not hemp retailers.

Oops.

3. Then the hospitality industry said, “uhhh… no.”

Bars didn’t want to lose hemp drinks.

Restaurants didn’t want to lose revenue.

Distributors didn’t want the extra regulation.

And suddenly…

4. The City delayed the vote.

Because when donors sneeze, Chicago politics gets a cold.

So what does a delay really mean?

It means they don’t have the votes.

Not without the hospitality industry.

Not without the liquor lobby.

Not without the big players who write the real rules in this town.

Small businesses?

They don’t get carve-outs.

They get carved up.

Because in Chicago:

If you don’t donate, you don’t get a seat at the table.

And if you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu.

Explain it to me like I’m 5…

If banning hemp was really about protecting kids, why did the City Council suddenly stop the vote the moment the food and beverage industry complained?

Why not pass it as-is, since “the children” matter more than “the cocktails,” right?

Unless…

Unless this was never about kids at all.

Unless this was about protecting corporate benefactors while pretending it was about public safety.

Unless Chicago politics just did what Chicago politics always does:

Screw the small business owners, protect the donors, and hope nobody notices.

But people noticed.