Illinois Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program — Round III
DCEO Office of Economic Equity forgivable-loan program for social-equity cannabis license holders. Round III opened 8/11/2025; $31.8M awarded to 95 businesses.
Check an Address — Free Snapshot
Compare the geocoded point for a Chicago address with the boundary used to screen Illinois Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program — Round III. A match is a location signal; review the current program source for the boundary's role and remaining criteria.
Published criteria — confirm with Illinois DCEO Office of Economic Equity
- Licensed Illinois cannabis operator with social-equity status
Illinois Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program — Round III is administered at the state level. Depending on the program, eligibility may depend on the specific location, property type, or business activity rather than a single drawn boundary.
Boundaries are precise and change over time, so whether a specific address falls inside a mapped zone always depends on that exact address. The fastest way to check is to run a free snapshot for the parcel you have in mind — mapped coverage is a location signal, not an eligibility determination.
Range on file · Forgivable loans (size varies by round)
Most recently published round offered Forgivable loans (size varies by round). (No round currently open as of 2026-08-09.)
- +Forgivable loans for buildout, equipment, and working capital
- +Designed to address barriers facing social-equity license holders
Application timing can change. Verify current availability and instructions with the administering agency before relying on this program.
Verify current status on the official source- Illinois Cannabis social-equity certification
- Business plan and use of funds
- Financial statements
This page is a starting point, not eligibility, legal, or tax advice. Verify current requirements, deadlines, and boundaries with the administering agency before applying or spending money — program rules and funding change over time.
- Phone
- (217) 782-7500
- Web
- Visit site ↗
Last verified 2026-08-09
Federal Opportunity Zone incentive: investors who reinvest capital gains through a Qualified Opportunity Fund into a designated zone receive tax reductions scaled to how long the investment is held. Illinois' current zones remain active for investment; a new round of IL-nominated zones takes effect January 1, 2027 under OZ 2.0.
Illinois Enterprise Zones offer state and local tax incentives to stimulate economic growth in economically depressed areas, including sales tax exemptions on building materials, utility tax exemptions, and investment tax credits.
The Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) program provides Illinois income tax credits against state withholding for businesses that create or retain jobs. Amended by HB2755 / P.A. 104-0006 (June 2025) to expand withholding-credit elections and require 10-day public posting of EDGE agreement terms.
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