Kane County Reporter

State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) is seeking clarity about the way Restore, Reinvest and Renew (R3) Program Grants are slated to be used. 

“I’m familiar with the NAACP and its mission and goals, but I have to admit I understand what you’re striving to do with the grant you're receiving, but I don’t know anything about what these groups are doing with the money once they get it and how it’s working,” Ugaste asked one witness during a recent House Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force hearing on the issue. “I get the overall picture, but I’m looking for a few more specifics so we have a better understanding of what’s going on and what more we could do, if anything.”

Dr. Patricia Booker Easley, of the NAACP and the Westside Collaborative Project, explained to Ugaste how the grants work.

“Representative, I think your question is how does it work once the funding filters down to each of the organizations,” she said. “I think it's important to reiterate ... these seven organizations are very diverse in the kinds of services they provide, but they're all grassroots organizations. They’re front-line in many cases. Remember, in the past they were not receiving funding, but somehow they were able to provide services to particular or specific citizens in their communities. So now that they have the funding, they are able to really target the different services to those people.”

Made up of eight West Side nonprofits and civil rights organizations, the Westside Collaborative Project is an initiative created with the goal of providing a wide range of services for West Side youths ages 14 to 24. The nearly $2 million state grant used for funding is set to come from revenues generated from the tax on cannabis sales.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is distributing R3 grants to organizations serving communities that have experienced economic hardship and disproportionate violence and incarceration.

Led by the Chicago Westside Branch NAACP, the Westside Collaborative includes organizations built around offering services that include mental health, career development, violence prevention and other support services. All the member organizations involved have been in operation for years and are said to already offer programs that serve young people.

Booker Easley stressed while each of the organizations have their own targets and missions in mind, all of them share the same overall goal.

“If you look at an organization such as Saving Our Sons, they provide services for formerly incarcerated gentlemen and women and they train them on construction-type positions or jobs,” she said. “On the other hand, we have other organizations that go directly to where crimes have happened or hotspots. They work with the police stations. They use the resources that they now have to go there and to try to defuse situations. They might set up a grill, they might have hamburgers, hotdogs, they may do peace circles and they do it just in time on the spot. So, those are just a few examples of how those funds are being really filtered down directly to the people who need them the most.”