Equity Investment Eligible Community Map

Eligibility

Equity investment eligible communities are geographic areas throughout Illinois which would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination. The eligible communities are: (1) R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40 of the Cannabis Regulation Tax Act, where residents have historically been excluded from economic opportunities, including opportunities in the energy sector; and (2) Environmental justice communities, as defined by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power Agency Act, where residents have historically been subject to disproportionate burdens of pollution, including pollution from the energy sector. 20 ILCS 3855/1-10.

Update:

As of September 22, 2023, the IPA’s Equity Investment Eligible Community map has been refreshed to include updated Environmental Justice Community areas. These new Environmental Justice Community designations were determined through a process conducted by the Illinois Power Agency’s (IPA) Illinois Solar for All program (ILSFA). The ILSFA team utilized updated data from the 2020 Census and the US EPA EJScreen tool to update Environmental Justice Community designations.

For the 2023-2024 Program Year, the Environmental Justice Communities map (and thus the Equity Investment Eligible Community map) will include both communities previously identified as Environmental Justice Communities and those identified through this new analysis. Because this refresh only results in expansions of the EJ community map, no Equity Eligible Persons’ status will be affected by those changes.

The IPA plans for previously eligible areas no longer identified as Environmental Justice Communities to be removed from the EIEC and EJC maps on June 1, 2024.

Additionally, the Illinois Solar for All program includes a process by which communities can request self-designation of Environmental Justice Communities. The Equity Investment Eligible Community map will be updated on a periodic basis when additional communities are designated as Environmental Justice Communities.

Lastly, the Equity Investment Eligible Community map now features new map layers allowing users to overlay Illinois county, Illinois House and Senate district, and Chicago ward boundaries onto Equity Investment Eligible Community map areas. Users can access these overlay features through a new “Open Layer List” icon found on the map’s option menu.

Using the Equity Investment Eligible Community Map

Click on the search bar below to display the map. Enter the address into the search bar (top) or zoom in (+) on the address on the map to find out if your community resides in an identified equity investment eligible community. Any address appearing shaded green is equity investment eligible.