Illinois quick hits: Cannabis company sued for alleged sexual harassment; Reparations class action suit to proceed; Disaster declaration approved for August 2025 storms

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

Cannabis company sued for alleged sexual harassment

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says a cannabis company subjected female workers at its Collinsville facility to unlawful sexual harassment. The EEOC said in a lawsuit filed on Monday that the Ascend Wellness Holdings facility manager and other male employees continually harassed female employees at least as early as February 2021. The EEOC said numerous female employees complained to Ascend’s human resources personnel, but the company failed to stop the conduct.

Reparations class action suit to proceed

A federal court in Illinois has allowed a civil rights lawsuit to move forward against Evanston’s reparations program. Judicial Watch filed the class action suit in May 2024, challenging Evanston’s use of race as an eligibility requirement for the program making $25,000 direct cash payments to Black residents and descendants of Black residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969.

Disaster declaration approved for August 2025 storms

The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened disaster loan outreach centers in Chicago, suburban Cook County and online after approving a disaster declaration for storms and flooding that impacted northeastern Illinois last August. The SBA said the declaration includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties for the damages suffered August 16-18, 2025.