ICJIA Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report

A message from the Executive Director

On behalf of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, I am pleased to present the Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report. This report features ICJIA’s work in Illinois criminal justice policy and planning, grants administration, research, and technology throughout the year.

This year, ICJIA staff processed 605 individual grants under 11 federal and 13 state programs and numerous general revenue-supported programs, with $169.9 million in disbursements.

Equity, fairness, and opportunity are the overarching priorities for every grant program ICJIA administers. Our innovative approach to advancing equity, specifically with Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) and Violence Prevention programs, aligns with member initiatives that target localized grassroots organizations. As a result, funding access and availability to historically underinvested, under-resourced Black, Latinx, and rural communities has increased. We are investing in smaller, new, and emerging community-based organizations that can solve challenges at the local level.

We administered unprecedented investments in Illinois’ most vulnerable communities during the fiscal year. ICJIA received a $75-million appropriation to administer the R3 program during the fiscal year and released a notice of funding opportunity for organizations to apply for grant funds. Organizations submitted record-breaking 512 applications, reviewed and scored by criminal justice practitioners, community stakeholders, and formerly justice-involved individuals. ICJIA awarded R3 grants totaling $45 million to 148 organizations, including $40.5 million to support service delivery programs and $4.5 million for community assessment and planning initiatives. Approximately 75% of the awardees are small organizations with budgets of less than $2 million.

ICJIA also disbursed more than $18 million in Violence Prevention and Reduction funds to 18 organizations across Illinois for violence prevention and reduction services, strategies to mediate and intervene in community conflict, and provide other supports to reduce the shooting and homicide incidents in high-need communities.

To assist with readiness challenges, ICJIA developed the Institute to Innovate (i2i), a new capacity-building hub offering 18 months of technical assistance to community-based and grassroots organizations committed to preventing violence in their communities. The i2i curriculum will be a resource for potential partners who need help with operational infrastructure and capacity. While local organizations are in the best position to identify and address the needs of their communities, many are not equipped to manage a state grant or meet their program goals. i2i serves groups seeking R3 and Violence Prevention funding and builds equity into the grant-making process.

These and other ICJIA initiatives are informed by research on evidence-based, promising, and emerging practices to address victim needs, improve public safety practices, contribute to violence prevention, and deflect at-risk individuals from criminal justice system involvement. This year, ICJIA researchers developed three new data visualization tools allowing users to research broad criminal justice issues and examine crime trends. With these visualizations, users may examine arrest and parole trends and deaths in custody sorted by county, age, race, and gender.

Researchers also published reports on police deflection efforts, understanding and addressing police stress, firearm restraining orders, trauma experiences within LGBTQ+ populations, and the impact of pre-vaccine COVID on Illinois corrections residents.

Equity will remain at the center of ICJIA’s work. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with the criminal justice community, the legislature, and the general public to ensure an equitable and effective justice system.

Delrice Adams

ICJIA Executive Director