Illinois officials have announced that the state will be awarding $31.5 million in grants, funded by cannabis revenue, to communities that have been impacted by the War on Drugs.
The Cannabis Regulation and Trust Act made recreational cannabis legal in Illinois at the beginning of 2020. Under the act, 25 percent of cannabis tax revenue goes towards grants for a number of communities. Through the Restore, Reinvest and Renew (R3) program, the revenue from cannabis will be distributed to 80 organizations in communities that have been negatively impacted by drug use. Illinois sold over $1 billion in recreational cannabis in 2020.
Recipients were selected by the R3 board, headed by Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. Communities deemed eligible for funding were identified by using data on gun injury, child poverty, unemployment and state prison commitments and returns. The largest single grant of $2.5 million was awarded to the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative to help with youth and economic development, as well as violence prevention, on Chicago’s south-side.
The first round of awards come amidst complaints that the state was taking too long in administering the grants from the funds accrued by the R3 program. Lt. Governor Stratton stated there was a huge influx of submissions and she wanted to make sure the board took the time to get it right. The deadline for the first round was in July 2020.“What I’m really proud of is not just the fact that these funds are getting to communities, but I’m proud of the way that it’s getting to communities, and that’s centered on equity,” Stratton said. “We made sure that we had town halls and meetings throughout the communities that were attended by hundreds of organizations and hundreds of people to make sure that we were doing outreach, especially for some of the smaller organizations that might not often have had an opportunity to get these grant funds.”
