SPRINGFIELD, IL (January 21, 2019) ― The Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois announces today former State Sen Pam Althoff is MCAI’s new Executive Director, replacing Michael Kleinik, who is leaving for a top post in Gov JB Pritzker’s Administration.
Kleinik, who led the Alliance in 2018, was named on Thursday by Gov Pritzker as Director of the Illinois Department of Labor. Althoff, who retired from the Illinois Senate last summer and now has her own Statehouse lobbying firm, joins MCAI in the lead role this week.
MCAI is a trade association based in Springfield formed to represent cultivation centers and dispensaries licensed under the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. MCAI’s goal is to promote the medicinal benefits of cannabis, safe delivery of medical cannabis, and overall growth of the industry, while ensuring the public’s general welfare is promoted and protected.
Kleinik helped increase membership and build legislative support of Senate Bill 336. That legislation allowed opioid users to be prescribed medical cannabis instead to help reduce the growing crisis of addiction and deaths from powerful painkillers, and it was passed and signed into law last spring and summer.
Kleinik’s professional career includes a long tenure in law enforcement, including Sheriff of Fayette County in southern Illinois in the 1990s. He then served with the Laborers’ union for more than 15 years, including 10 years as Executive Director of the Chicago Laborers’ District Council, Labor-Management Cooperation Committee. Althoff is a former mayor who represented Chicago’s far northwest suburbs in the Illinois Senate since 2003.
“It was not an easy decision to leave, but I have long believed in public service and was honored to be selected by Gov Pritzker to be his Labor Department Director,” Kleinik said. “I wish MCAI’s leadership and members much success and look forward to seeing the industry continue to grow and improve people’s health and lives.”
“Michael and the leadership team at MCAI have done a tremendous job building the organization and effectively advocating for medical marijuana companies and their many patients,” Althoff said. “I look forward to stepping in this year to help build on that momentum.”
MCAI President Larry O’Hern said the organization appreciates Kleinik’s hard work and guidance over the past year and believes Althoff is a strong replacement to lead MCAI with an important legislative year ahead.
“Michael is the kind of quiet, effective leader who makes the people who work with him better, and Gov Pritzker has made a great choice as his Labor Department Director. Our loss is definitely the state of Illinois’s gain,” O’Hern said. “Pam shares Michael’s desire to help us represent the interests of our medical cannabis businesses and the thousands of customers who rely on us to improve their health, and her strong experience and relationships with legislators of both parties will be an invaluable resource for the Alliance moving forward.
As the Legislature debates cannabis issues this year, including legalizing adult use of cannabis, MCAI will be at the table with strong leadership to provide the critical insight our legislators need to make the right decisions about cannabis policy in Illinois.”
