ILEAS is pleased to announce continued funding through ICJIA for the “Less Lethal Alternatives for Law Enforcement Grant” (LLA). On June 16, 2025 Governor Pritzker signed the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Illinois Budget which includes funding through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), for renewal of this program. The LLA grant is aimed at purchasing less lethal devices and providing training on less lethal alternatives to include de-escalation, cultural competency, and trauma informed response.
Over the past two years ILEAS collaborated with ICJIA, local, and county law enforcement to facilitate the grant initiatives. ILEAS contacted all eligible Illinois law enforcement agencies resulting in 404 applications for the LLA Grant. After a panel review of all submissions, 228 agencies were selected for the first round of awards. 1,407 less lethal devices (Tasers) including holsters and cartridges for training and deployment were distributed. ILEAS also coordinated less lethal training with vendors Calibre Press and Force Science. Twenty one training sessions were held targeting both end user and train the trainer instruction. Seven hundred and ten officers were trained at locations intentionally spread throughout the State amounting to more than 6,100 hours of law enforcement training.
Upon application and final award approval of the grant, ILEAS plans to contact those agencies not selected in the first round of funding to determine continued interest. Additionally, ILEAS will post a request for proposal for vendors interested in providing LLA grant training for the FY 26 grant cycle. We fully anticipate expanding current de-escalation and critical incident training per the requirements of the grant. Additionally, we would like to explore the options of training CEW instructors and ensuring the availability of training aids and materials to help awardees field the devices they have just accepted. Please monitor the ILEAS website for future announcements as we look forward to continuing our effort in support of law enforcement throughout the state.