While progress has been made, not all goals have been accomplished with $35 million in state grants from cannabis tax revenue awarded a year ago.
Five entities with presences in the capital city, including the city of Springfield, the Springfield Urban League, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Illinois Legal Aid Online and the East Springfield Community Center Commission, won nearly $1.5 million in state grants funded by marijuana taxes during the first round of funding last year. Under state law, 25% of state pot taxes must be spent on grants to help communities that the state says have been historically and disproportionately harmed by the government's war on drugs. Now, the state has extended funding for a second year so that grantees are eligible for double the amount originally awarded, with the money to be spent by June of next year.
The city of Springfield, which received $80,000, hasn't yet completed a study designed to figure out ways to create affordable housing, combat violence and encourage economic development. Through last September, the city had spent slightly more than $23,000, state records show. Donna Davlantis, grants coordinator for the city's Office of Planning and Economic Development, says that she expects the study to be completed by the end of February. Challenges posed by pandemic, including people involved in planning who came down with COVID, have delayed completion, she said. The city is eligible for an additional $33,000 for planning purposes, according to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, which administers the grants, but Davlantis says the city doesn't plan to spend the money.
The Springfield Urban League, awarded nearly $420,000 in grants a year ago after setting a goal of finding employment for 50 clients, reported 48 people finding employment during the first three quarters of last year, including 30 people during the third quarter. Through October, $123,000, or nearly 30%, of the grant award had been spent. More recent reports covering the last quarter of 2021 were not immediately available from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, which says that the Urban League will be eligible for another $420,000 to provide another year of services aimed at economic development and helping people find legal help and employment, with an emphasis on young people. Marcus Johnson, president and chief executive officer for the Urban League, did not return a phone call.
The East Springfield Community Center Commission, which was awarded nearly $81,000 for planning purposes and another $728,000 to help recently released inmates find houses and jobs while also completing a feasibility study and market analysis for an athletic complex and amusement park, had spent more than $29,000, or 36%, of the planning money through September and more than $205,000 on delivering services, according to state records. In its third-quarter report, the commission, a nonprofit that had never had more than $50,000 in annual revenue before landing the grants, reported that a feasibility study and market analysis were complete and that five of 15 clients had found jobs. The commission, which is eligible for nearly $762,000 for planning and services during the coming year, last year landed more state marijuana money than any other local applicant. Dameon Johnson, the commission's director, did not return a phone call.
Johnson for years has pushed for an east-side sports complex dubbed STAR Village that has carried an estimated $300 million price tag. The Springfield City Council approved public money to build a sports complex near SCHEELS in May of last year. Ryan McCrady, president and chief executive officer of the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, a public-private entity dedicated to economic development, said that he hasn't seen any studies or plans for the complex that the East Springfield Community Center Commission described in its application for state grants. Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams said he spoke about STAR Village with Johnson while Johnson was seeking a license for a marijuana cultivation facility but hasn't seen a study. "He (Johnson) did update me that STAR Village was on track for his timeline," Williams said. "He says that the study is complete."
Illinois Legal Aid Online, awarded nearly $33,000 last year, reported spending nearly $20,000 through the end of September. According to documents submitted to the state, the number of cases from Springfield rose 15% through the first nine months of last year, with the organization triaging calls from 1,200 people to obtain legal help. Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, which was awarded nearly $115,000, reported spending nearly $37,400 through September. Melinda Hubele, managing attorney for the northern region of Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, said her organization has collaborated with the Springfield Urban League to find folks who need legal help. One issue, she said, is convincing folks who need legal services that they can trust lawyers.
"I would say that this funding has allowed us to reach portions of Sangamon County that we hadn't previously reached," Hubele said.
Bruce Rushton is a freelance reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
