A well-known Chicago civil rights attorney wants to get into the medical marijuana business and, if successful, is pledging to donate half of the earnings to support education.

Jon Loevy and several partners have put in an application seeking a permit to open the facility in Edgewood, a small town in Effingham County.

He tells reporters that half of the earnings would go toward educational initiatives around the state, including helping fund new charter schools in underserved communities.

Loevy says the law permitting a medical marijuana industry in Illinois has "created a real opportunity for profits." But, he says, a lot of those seeking to cash in are hedge funds and private equity firms who - in his words - are "just trying to get rich."