* Press release…

Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton today announced $45 million in Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program funding to support community organizations that serve neighborhoods most impacted by economic disinvestment, violence, and the war on drugs. Managed by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), this latest round of grants is making $40.5 million available for organizations that provide services within the five priority funding areas: civil legal aid, economic development, re-entry from the criminal justice system, violence prevention, and youth development. Additionally, $4.5 million is available for capacity-building grants to help small organizations expand.

Organizations interested in applying for funding can review the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) at R3.Illinois.gov.

“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,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “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.”

Created by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act which Governor Pritzker signed into law in 2019, the R3 program is funded using 25% of adult-use cannabis tax revenue. 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,” said Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. “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.”

Areas eligible for funding were identified using community-level data on gun injury, child poverty, unemployment, and state prison commitments and returns, combined with disproportionately impacted areas identified by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

Of the available funds, 75% will be dedicated to organizations that have been in operation for less than five years or have a budget of less than $2 million. To improve small organizations’ access to state funds, ICJIA offers an online, self-guided technical assistance course. ICJIA will also offer several online webinars to provide guidance about specific components of the application for R3 funds. For more information about technical assistance opportunities, visit R3.illinois.gov.

* The Sun-Times did a story on these sorts of programs earlier in the month. Here’s an excerpt…

One grantee, Derek Brown, grew up in North Lawndale during the height of the crack epidemic, charting an all-too-familiar course for kids raised on Chicago’s South and West sides. Nicknamed “Shotgun” earlier in his life, Brown said he joined the Vice Lords when he was 13, went to the penitentiary at 17 and was shot two years later.

Brown, 45, said he eventually had an epiphany in 2009 as he sat watching a group of kids “going down the same destructive path.”

“Those babies were doing the same thing that I was doing,” he said, “and I had to do something.”

So he started Boxing Out Negativity, a boxing program that operates out of a gym near 16th Street and Pulaski Road and aims to “empower at-risk youth to realize the best within themselves in a safe and supportive environment,” according to its mission statement.

In July, Brown’s program was among 21 organizations that received $3.5 million in R3 grants to combat the historical uptick in violence during the summer months.

Brown said his organization used the nearly $200,000 it received for gang intervention efforts in North Lawndale that were “bigger than the boxing program.” The work was much needed: city data shows the neighborhood has seen at least 43 homicides so far this year, up from 39 all of last year and 23 in 2019.

Brown noted that his team helped mediate more than 100 conflicts, including a longstanding beef between gang factions that ultimately reached a treaty. A mental health specialist also held weekly appointments and business owners offered some kids job opportunities, he said.

Go read the rest.