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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.

Equity Investment Eligible Community Map

Updates

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On June 3, the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) refreshed the Equity Investment Eligible Community (EIEC) map for Program Year 2024-2025. This updated map reflects the removal of previously eligible 2022 Environmental Justice Community (EJC) areas used in Program Year 2023-2024.

EJC designations are determined through a process conducted by the IPA’s Illinois Solar for All program (ILSFA). The ILSFA team utilizes updated data from the US Census and the U.S. EPA’s EJScreen tool to update EJC designations every five years, with the next planned update in 2028.

Equity Eligible Persons’ (EEP) status based on residency may be affected by this change. For individuals whose EEP status is affected by the EIEC map update, their status will change at the next recertification - i.e., two years after they first certify as EEPs and at the next registration renewal for EEPs that are majority-owners of Equity Eligible Contractors (EECs). For EECs that may lose the status of EEC due to a majority-owner EEP no longer qualifying as an EEP, any projects already under contract through the EEC Category will not be affected by that loss of status. Similarly, any projects that have received points in project selection due to contracting with an EEC Designee will not be penalized for a downstream change in the EEC status of that Designee due to a map update.

Lastly, as part of the EIEC map refresh, the IPA has updated the structure of the EIEC webpage on the Energy Workforce Equity Portal to increase accessibility and improve the user experience. For questions, please contact IPA.EnergyEquity@illinois.gov.

As of April 29, 2024, the IPA’s Equity Investment Eligible Community map has been refreshed to include the updated R3 Areas. These R3 Area designations were determined through a process conducted by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (“ICJIA”) regarding the R3 maps. For this process, ICJIA utilized the new 2020 census and geography information, unemployment indicators, child poverty indicators, and reflected a five-year time span.  

For Program Year 2024-25, the Equity Investment Eligible Community map, will include both the updated R3 Areas identified through new analysis and previously identified R3 Areas. This update increases the total number of R3 Areas in central and southern Illinois.  

Equity Eligible Persons’ status based on residency may be affected by the changes. As stated in Section 10.1.1. of the 2024 Long-Term Plan, the IPA will incorporate the R3 map updates while continuing to consider areas from the previous R3 map as EIECs for the 2024-25 Program Year. The R3 map is expected to be updated every four years. For individuals whose EEP status is affected by the EIEC map update, their status will change at the next recertification - i.e., two years after they first certify for workforce EEPs and at the next registration renewal for EEPs that are majority-owners of EECs. For EECs that may lose the status of EEC due to a majority-owner EEP no longer qualifying as an EEP, any projects already under contract through the EEC Category will not be affected by that loss of status. Similarly, any projects that have received points in project selection due to contracting with an EEC Designee will not be penalized for a downstream change in the EEC status of that designee due to a map update.

The IPA plans for previously eligible areas no longer identified as R3 Areas to be removed from the EIEC map on June 1, 2025.

Lastly, as part of the EIEC map refresh, the IPA has updated the EIEC map instructions to improve the user experience. Furthermore, the EIEC map shapefiles are now available to the public. These enhancements reflect the IPA’s ongoing commitment to transparency and accessibility around DEI initiatives.  

 

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.

 

Accessing the Equity Investment Eligible Community Map data

Click on the following links to download the EIEC map data.

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.

If you use the search box, as you type addresses will be suggested, and you can click on a suggested address. It will place a marker on the map and identify if the location is in an Equity Investment Eligible Community. Any address appearing shaded green is equity investment eligible.

 


 

You can also search for an address by:

Using the Use current location icon     

Clicking on the map

Use the Layers icon    to turn on and off boundaries of Counties, Chicago Wards, and Illinois House and Senate districts.       

Equity Investment Eligible Community Map