Chicago Deep Dish: Cannabis Real Estate

John Sullivan is the Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at Cresco Labs, a leading vertically integrated Multistate Operator (“MSO”) in the cannabis industry with a presence in 11 states, including New York, Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania. Mr. Sullivan has worked in the cannabis field for nearly five years, and in his current position manages Cresco’s government relations and social justice and community integration units, regularly interfacing with regulators, community leaders, and other stakeholders. Prior to joining Cresco, Mr. Sullivan served as the president of an Illinois cannabis company, overseeing all aspects of its operations, including the day-to-day operations of the company’s two Illinois dispensaries located in Rockford, Illinois and in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago. In 2014, Mr. Sullivan successfully drafted applications for those dispensary licenses, which were among the first medical dispensary licenses awarded in Illinois. In his former position, Mr. Sullivan also established standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the dispensaries that ensured regulatory compliance and brought great profitability. Prior to entering the cannabis space, Mr. Sullivan spent many years working as a lawyer in both public and private practice. Among his experience, Mr. Sullivan served as the First Assistant Commissioner at the Board of Review, the Illinois regulatory agency that adjudicates all Cook County, Illinois and Chicago property tax appeals. In addition to working as an attorney in the private sector, Mr. Sullivan spent ten years as an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney, a career that included a term as a senior prosecutor in the Gang Crimes Unit. In that role he helped keep Chicago streets safe and prosecuted hundreds of bench and jury trials. This experience provided Mr. Sullivan with a first-hand look at the negative consequences of the 50-year War on Drugs and the underserved needs of the urban Chicago community, which serves him in his current role.

Manages the project management and development team at MB Real Estate - Winner of Project Manager of the Year at the Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards. Over $1B worth of projects - ground-up development, healthcare, tenant improvement, lab development, asset enhancement, education and religious institutions.

Anthony Zeoli is a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group and the Leader of the Emerging Industries Team. He concentrates his practice in the areas of banking and commercial finance, securities, real estate, and general corporate law. Anthony’s commercial finance practice includes the representation of borrowers and lenders in: secured and unsecured lending transactions; corporate reorganizations and restructuring; syndicated commercial financing transactions; and loan workouts. Anthony also has a vibrant securities and general corporate practice including initial and subsequent private debt and equity offerings; mergers and acquisitions; company formation and governance; and general contract drafting and negotiation. He has particular skill in the negotiation and documentation of transactions involving the acquisition, sale, construction, development, leasing, and/or financing of real estate and has represented parties on both sides of such transactions. Anthony is also an industry leader in the areas of crowdfunding, blockchain, securities based cryptocurrency/token offerings, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, and Regulation A+ offerings. He also personally drafted the Illinois intrastate crowdfunding exemption, which was unanimously passed into law by the Illinois House of Representatives. Anthony was recently named to the National Law Journal's inaugural list of Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and FinTech Trailblazers.