By Peter Hancock & Capitol News Illinois
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Jan 22, 2021
The state announced Thursday that it has awarded $31.5 million in grants to 81 community organizations around Illinois to help fund legal services for low-income residents, youth development, violence prevention and economic development in areas hardest hit by the war on drugs.
The Restore, Reinvest and Renew, or “R3” grants are funded with a portion of the state’s revenue from sales of adult-use marijuana, and they were a key element of the 2019 bill that legalized recreational marijuana in Illinois.
“We know that too many communities, disproportionately Black and brown communities throughout our state, have suffered from over incarceration and decades of disinvestment due to the failed war on drugs,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who chairs the R3 Program Board, said during an interview with Capitol News Illinois. “And so the R3 program was one component that was included by the members of the General Assembly, with the leadership of the Legislative Black Caucus, in particular, to make sure that we focused on restorative justice.”