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The Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act created the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program, which reinvests a portion of cannabis tax revenue into communities experiencing high rates of gun injury, unemployment, child poverty, and incarceration. These grant funds support programming in five priority areas: civil legal aid, economic development,...

Diversion programming can be offered by law enforcement and the courts to individuals as option to redirect them from further criminal justice system processing. The Illinois Criminal Diversion Racial Impact Data Collection Act of 2017 sought to provide a mechanism to gather statewide data on the race and ethnicity of...

Securing employment after exiting prison can be challenging, but some reentry programs seek to help formerly incarcerated individuals gain employment. One type of program provides entrepreneurship training to help individuals open their own small business. ICJIA researchers conducted an outcome evaluation of an entrepreneurship program in Cook County Illinois, Pathway...

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to support prosecutor-led development of local, tailored initiatives to reduce gun and gang violence. In partnership with the Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Central Illinois District’s Project Safe Neighborhoods team, ICJIA conducted a survey of police and sheriff departments in...

Formerly incarcerated individuals may be unable to secure stable employment and struggle to acquire income; however, opening a small business may offer this population an alternative to the traditional job market. Researchers evaluated the Pathway to Enterprise for Returning Citizens (PERC) program, which offered training in entrepreneurship and other resources...

This interactive data on drug-related arrests and prison admissions allow users to explore the types of drug offenses for which individuals are arrested and admitted to prison, the locations in which different types of drug arrests and prison admissions occur in Illinois, and the characteristics of those admitted to prison...

This article explores the use of randomized control trials (RCTs) to test criminal justice programs to measure effectiveness. BetaGov is a group that offers assistance to practitioners and researchers to conduct RCTs. An example of such a collaboration between ICJIA and Betagov is offered along with lessons learned.

Gun violence continues to be a major criminal justice and public health issue. This article provides an overview of one strategy to reduce gun violence—focused deterrence. The strategy has been employed in many major U.S. cities, including in Illinois in Chicago, Peoria, and Rockford. Overall research on focused deterrence strategies...

Technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace and touches all facets of modern life including law enforcement’s role in public safety. Police agencies have adopted many law enforcement technologies to improve response times, aid in investigating and solving crime, and enhance transparency. This literature review describes common types of...

Violence is a pervasive part of society with severe and long-lasting negative consequences for health and well-being. In Illinois, interpersonal violence takes many shapes and affects people across the state. Partnerships to reduce interpersonal violence can benefit from a mutual understanding of the variety of violence prevention approaches. To support...