$50 Million in State Pot Tax Money Earmarked for “Historically Underserved Communities”

From the JB Pritzker Administration:

CHICAGO, IL – The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) announced today two funding opportunities for the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) Program, totaling $50 million in grants to historically underserved communities. 

ICJIA will allocate $35 million to support community reentry from the criminal legal system, economic development, and civil legal aid programs, with another $15 million allocated to support youth development and violence prevention initiatives.

The Cannabis Regulation and Trust Act (CRTA) legalized adult-use cannabis and established the R3 Program. The R3 Program invests 25% of state tax revenues from adult-use cannabis sales to fund grants that support communities that are most impacted by economic disinvestment, violence, poverty, and the overuse of incarceration.

“Illinois’ equity-centric cannabis reform was one of the first priorities of the Pritzker-Stratton Administration. The R3 Program is key to Illinois’ legalization framework,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “Now, as we begin our fourth round of grant opportunities, the R3 Program has made enormous strides in empowering organizations to make their communities stronger and safer.”

This grant funding is made possible by Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly’s FY26 Budget, which appropriated a total of $180 million for ICJIA. The appropriation also included $50 million for new R3 grant opportunities for up to 36 months.

“Our R3 program goal is to replace cycles of disinvestment with cycles of renewal,” said ICJIA Executive Director Delrice Adams. “These grant opportunities reinforce our mission to support innovative, community-led solutions that address the root causes of violence and poverty, helping individuals and neighborhoods thrive after decades of disproportionate harm.”

Youth development and violence prevention initiatives should incorporate a strengths-based, positive youth development framework that empowers high-risk youth through mentorship, life-skills training, and civic engagement. Funded violence prevention initiatives will support street outreach workers in de-escalating immediate conflicts and providing trauma-informed care to help break cycles of retaliation.

Reentry services support individuals and families impacted by the criminal legal system at any stage, from initial diversion to post-release from state facilities. By offering a holistic range of supports—including housing stability, workforce development, behavioral health, and legal aid—these services address the unique barriers this population faces to ensure long-term success. All funded activities must be directly linked to improving outcomes for justice-involved participants. 

The R3 program aims to repair systemic disparities, recognizing that the negative consequences of the war on drugs have disproportionately affected disinvested communities, particularly communities of color. Funded programs must implement evidence-based, promising, or innovative practices that seek to address systemic harms.

ICJIA’s application review process prioritizes equity, actively recruiting community-based application reviewers who are primary stakeholders in the R3 Program. Equity points are awarded to applicants who demonstrate that their program leadership, frontline, and other staff reflect their proposed service areas (communities), and that lived experience is incorporated into the program design.

R3 grant eligibility is evaluated every four years using mapped Census data and community-level data on gun injury, child poverty, unemployment, and state prison commitments and returns. Areas identified by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity as disproportionately impacted areas are also eligible. The current eligibility map identifies more than 900 eligible R3 areas.

Newer organizations often face challenges in managing grant administration, financial compliance, data tracking, and strategic leadership, diverting critical resources and time away from direct intervention work. ICJIA’s Institute to Innovate (i2i) program offers tailored grant readiness and administration, organizational development, and performance and data management training designed to set R3 grantees up for success.

Since its inception in 2021, ICJIA has awarded more than $330 million in R3 grant funding to community organizations across Illinois.

Application materials, including instructions for applying, are available at https://r3.illinois.gov/. Applications must be submitted by March 6, 2026.