SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - A total of $31.5 million, or 25% of the tax revenue the state of Illinois got from adult legal cannabis sale in 2020, is going toward a program called Restore, Reinvest and Renew (R3). A driving force behind the program is Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.

“The R3 program tackles chronic problems that have gone unaddressed for far too long in our underserved neighborhoods. The collaboration between the Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative and ICJIA is innovative and reinvents the grant process with community inclusion and promotes a standard for equity and success that other states will hopefully take note of and emulate.” 

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority evaluated communities in Illinois based on gun violence, unemployment and criminal justice systems to find "R3 zones." Several regions in Central Illinois are included, therefore giving money to organizations to encourage violence prevention, give legal aid and provide re-entry services.

"It's really about reinvesting in the community, this grant," said Macon County CASA Executive Director Julia Livingston. Macon County CASA is receiving about $60k from the program.

"It's allowing us to hire brand new staff members. And essentially those staff members will allow us to take on additional cases from the judge. The less amount of time, the less trauma that these children can have, the more productive and of an adult life they can have and they can be productive for our community," Livingston said.

Beyond organizations, cities are getting the grant as well. 

"I will be hiring a facilitator to go out and work with the residents of the R3 zone," said Valera Yazell, director for the Office of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Springfield.

The legalization of marijuana was a controversial topic, but Christian Perry, the community development manager at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, said marijuana sales themselves are not what people should be focused on.

"We just take the revenues and a quarter of these revenues. We're trying to think about how to get it to the places that best need it," Perry said. "I think the sky's the limit for how much we can improve getting the monies to where it can be most impactful to the people on the ground."

“This is not a one-and-done grant. The R3 grants will provide funding to underserved communities for years to come, making an impact and providing generational change,” said Lt. Gov Stratton.

For more information on the R3 grant or how an organization can apply, click here.