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
See whether a specific Chicago address sits inside the area that unlocks Illinois Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program — Round III, alongside every other incentive that touches that parcel.
Illinois social-equity licensed cannabis businesses — craft growers, infusers, transporters, dispensaries.
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 exact eligibility always depends on the specific address. The fastest way to know is to run a free snapshot for the parcel you have in mind.
Typical range · Forgivable loans (size varies by round)
- +Forgivable loans for buildout, equipment, and working capital
- +Designed to address barriers facing social-equity license holders
- 1Watch for next Cannabis Social Equity Loan round at DCEO OE3
- 2Demonstrate Illinois social-equity certification
- 3Submit application with use of funds
Monitor DCEO OE3 page for next round
- 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 2026-05-21
Illinois supports federal Opportunity Zone investments through DCEO discretionary grants (Regional Site Readiness, OZ capital grants) and scoring preference for projects in designated zones. 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.
REV Illinois (Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois) provides project-by-project tax credits for businesses in the electric vehicle and renewable energy supply chain. Negotiated with DCEO across four investment/job tiers.