An worker of the worldwide accounting company that used to be awarded a no-bid contract to grade programs for the state’s subsequent spherical of pot store licenses could also be a spouse in some of the 21 teams that secured a place within the upcoming lottery to decide the winners.
Hamd Kamal works as a possibility control guide for KPMG, which is getting just about $4.2 million via a no-bid contract with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the company that oversees dispensaries. All advised, greater than 700 applicants submitted 1,667 general programs in search of upwards of four,000 dispensary licenses.
Kamal could also be indexed as a supervisor of EHR Holdings LLC, an upstart pot company that still counts former Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard as a backer, in step with data stored through the Illinois secretary of state’s place of job. EHR’s important cope with is a Near West Side head store, Smoke Stop, that’s additionally run through Kamal.
Smoke Shop, at 1333 W. Taylor St., is administered through Hamd Kamal. Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Kamal’s RelatedIn account said closing week that he’s a possibility guide at KPMG, although the connection with the company has since been wiped from the web page.
Like the opposite 20 corporations within the lottery, EHR earned best possible rankings at the programs that constitute its 5 probabilities in drawings in 3 of the 17 conceivable areas around the state.
The information {that a} KPMG worker could also be a part of a company that’s secured 5 spots within the dispensary lottery comes as lawmakers and candidates proceed to pepper Gov. J.B. Pritzker with issues in regards to the company’s contract, strategies and the way the applying procedure shook out.
KPMG spokesman James McGann mentioned Kamal “is an employee but he was not part of the engagement team that scored the applications.”
He added: “The scoring process was objective, following the state’s criteria, with a blind scoring methodology. The team scoring the applications would have no knowledge of the names or affiliations of applicants. A separate team scored certain aspects of the application, such as social equity.”
EHR spokesman Eric Kowalczyk mentioned the company used to be shaped closing July, seven months earlier than KPMG signed its preliminary contract with the IDFPR.
“The EHR team learned of KPMG’s selection at the same time as the rest of the state when it was published in the newspaper,” Kowalczyk mentioned, pointing to a information record in July. “In reality, EHR used to be made mindful KPMG handiest discovered of any affiliation two days in the past.
“As with every submission, by every applicant who applied for a license, EHR’s application contained no information that could be used to identify the members of EHR or their employers,” added Kowalczyk, who claimed the company adopted state laws “to the letter.”
Despite Kowalczyk pronouncing KPMG only recently discovered of Kamal’s ties to EHR, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh famous that “KPMG had a plan in place to ensure that any potential conflicts of interest were addressed and did not influence the process. They are a large international firm with experience ensuring there aren’t conflicts of interest.”
Since the overall contenders for the extremely wanted dispensary had been introduced closing week, dropping candidates and lawmakers virtually instantly began elevating alarms.
The legalization regulation used to be handed to learn so-called social fairness candidates, who earn that standing through dwelling in spaces which were disproportionately impacted through previous drug enforcement, having a minor hashish conviction or assembly different standards. The goal used to be in the end to create extra numerous possession in an trade ruled through white males.
But KPMG has been some of the giant winners because the state strikes to dole out new leisure weed licenses.
In addition to the IDFPR deal, KPMG used to be awarded every other no-bid contract through the Illinois Department of Agriculture valued at $2.five million. Under that contract, KPMG is grading programs for licenses to develop,…