Illinois: $45M In Grants From Cannabis Revenue Now Available To Support Community Reinvestment

Governor J.B. Pritzker and Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton announced on Wednesday that $45 million is being rewarded to the state’s Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program set up to support community organizations serving neighborhoods most impacted by economic disinvestment, violence and the war on drugs.

An initial $40.5 million is earmarked for organizations that provide service within the five priority funding areas: civil legal aid, economic development, re-entry from the criminal justice system, violence prevention and youth development. The remaining be $4.5 million will available for capacity-building grants to help small organizations expand.

“As we launch applications for the second round of R3 grants, I know our recipients will keep transforming lives with their work, and in turn transform our cities and state. Because when we reinvest in the potential of our people, we invite the economic activity that creates resiliency,” Pritzker said, reported WAND, a local NBC affiliate. 

“When we renew hope in communities historically left out, we inspire the next generation to pursue a brighter future. And in public service, that is our obligation.”

R3 is a key component of the Pritzker-Stratton administration’s commitment to equity and repairing the severe harms caused by the failed war on drugs, which disproportionately hurt communities of color.

“R3 epitomizes one of the key tenets of restorative justice, that the wisdom is in the room,” Stratton said. “Solutions to the challenges that our neighborhoods face can be found in those very communities, and R3 seeks to invest in organizations that have the closest ties to the communities they serve.”

The R3 Program, created by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act that Pritzker signed into law in 2019, is funded using 25% of Illinois’ adult-use cannabis tax revenue, which has proven to be significant, as the state’s cannabis sales are booming. 

Adult-use sales spiked 113% year-over-year to $1.24 billion so far, after reaching a $1 billion milestone in October. Illinois also has some of the highest cannabis taxes in the country.

Putting Taxes To Good Use

“As one of the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use through the legislative process, it was imperative that we put equity at the forefront of the law,” said Illinois State Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin). “The R3 grant programs are an important way that we are addressing the harmful effects of the war on drugs, inequities in incarceration and gun violence.”

Photo by Joel Mott on Unsplash.