Cook County Cannabis Development Grant - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Cook County Cannabis Development Grants Expense and Impact Survey (“the Survey”)?

The Survey is a tool for Cook County to understand how grant funds were expended by 2024 recipients of Cook County Cannabis Development Grants (“CCC Development Grants” or “the Program”) and the impacts that the Program had on their cannabis-based businesses. 

What is the deadline to respond to the Survey? 

The Survey window will open at 12:00 AM Central Daylight Time (CDT) on Thursday, September 1, 2025, and remain open until 5:00 PM CDT on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

Is responding to the Survey a requirement of my CCC Development Grant award?

Yes. Recipients of CCC Development Grant awards (“Grantees”) are required to participate in the Survey, as outlined in the grant agreement that recipients signed with Cook County before receiving their award check.

What happens if my business does not respond to the Survey?

Choosing not to participate in the Survey would be an “Event of Default” under the grant agreement that Grantees signed with Cook County. If an Event of Default cannot be resolved (“cured”), Cook County may terminate the agreement and reclaim the grant funds that were awarded to the Grantee.

Who can complete the Survey on behalf of my business?

The Survey must be completed and submitted by either:

• An owner of the business that received the CCC Development grant award; or
• An individual that has Power of Attorney from the business to complete and submit the Survey on its behalf. 

If the individual completing the Survey is not an owner of the business, they must upload an executed Power of Attorney to demonstrate they are authorized to submit on behalf of the business. 

How will my answers to the Survey be used?

Cook County will only use the data and information submitted through the Survey for the purposes of Program oversight, monitoring, analysis, and research. This includes, but is not limited to, research and analysis of the Program’s performance and impact, and helping Cook County design possible cannabis business resources in the future. Cook County will not use or provide for analysis any personally identifiable information (PII) related to any Grantees.

Why does the Survey ask questions about the impact of grant funds on my business?

Cook County seeks to understand the impact of all of its small business programs on program participants, including recipients of the CCC Development Grants. Survey responses from Grantees will assist Cook County in designing future resources that will meet the needs of the cannabis sector.

Why does the Survey ask questions about how my business used the grant funds?

Cook County seeks to confirm that CCC Development Grant funds were used only for eligible business expenses, as defined in the grant agreement Grantees signed with Cook County. To do so, the agreement requires Grantees to submit acceptable documentation. These requirements are outlined in “Section 3: Terms and Conditions” and “Section 4.2: Obligations of Grantee” in your business’s grant agreement with Cook County. 

What are "eligible business expenses"?

Grantees may use grant funds for ordinary and necessary expenses to start and operate their cannabis-based business in Cook County. Grantees may use grant funds to cover eligible expenses that have already been incurred, as long as those eligible expenses were incurred by the applicant after the date that their cannabis license was issued. The following types of expenses are eligible:

• Business inventory
• Debt incurred to support start-up and operation of the cannabis-based business, which may include personal debt incurred by owners to support the cannabis business 
• Employee training and professional development related to operation of a cannabis-based business
• Furniture, fixtures and equipment
• Personnel (i.e., wages, benefits, employer-paid taxes), excluding salaries, distributions/returns on capital or other payments made to business owners
• Physical improvements to the business location (i.e., construction required to prepare a business location for occupancy) 
• Professional services (e.g., architect, accountant, attorney, designer, etc.)
• Regulatory fees, excluding fines, penalties or any other costs related to delinquencies or otherwise not complying with regulations
• Rent or mortgage costs for the business location
• Technology (i.e., hardware and/or software) 
• Utility costs for the business location
• Vehicles purchased or leased for use by the cannabis-based business (transporter licensees only)

Grantees must comply with all applicable state and local orders, laws, regulations, rules, policies and certifications governing any activities undertaken using grant funds received through a CCC Development Grant, including but not limited to any compliance with prevailing wage laws.

What uses of grant funds are prohibited?

Grantees cannot use the grant for: 

• Expenses associated with cannabis-based business facilities that are located outside of Cook County
• Expenses of any kind that are not associated with the cannabis-based business for which the grantee applied and received funds
• Fines, penalties or legal expenses associated with litigation involving the State of Illinois or Cook County relating to any regulatory or criminal matter
• Personal expenses of any kind (e.g., travel, entertainment, food, etc.)
• Salaries, distributions/returns on capital, or other payments to business owners
• Taxes of any kind, including but not limited to federal, state, local, property and sales taxes 
• Vehicles purchased or leased for use by the cannabis-based business (other than for transporter licensees)

What is “acceptable documentation” for eligible business expenses?

Grantees must provide an itemized list of the eligible expenses that were paid using their CCC Development Grant funds and provide acceptable documentation to confirm the date, amount, and nature of eligible expenses that were incurred. Acceptable documents depend on the type of expense, and may include invoices, payroll registers, billing statements or receipts.

Grantees must also provide acceptable documentation to confirm that eligible expenses were paid. Acceptable documents include canceled checks or bank statements showing electronic transactions.

Detailed information about acceptable documentation for each type of eligible expense is available in the Expense Documentation Guide.

What file formats are allowed for my uploaded documents?

Documents uploaded as part of your Expense and Impact Survey must be submitted in one of the following file formats:

• PDF (strongly preferred)
• BMP
• GIF
• JPG
• PNG
• TIFF

Can I save my survey responses and come back later to finish?

No. We strongly recommend gathering all necessary documents before starting the survey, because you cannot save your survey and go back to make changes. Once your survey is submitted, you cannot return to it to edit or attach different or additional documents. Please plan to enter all data, documents and other materials in one sitting.

Please also be sure you have answered every required question and uploaded all necessary documents before submitting your survey.

What do I do if I need to upload more than 10 documents to verify my eligible business expenses?

If you need to upload more than 10 documents, please use the supplement document upload form, available here. This form will allow you to upload up to 10 additional documents. You may submit the supplemental document upload form as many times as necessary to upload all of your documents.

How can I request additional information about the Survey?

Any questions not answered in this set of Frequently Asked Questions or in the Expense Documentation Guide can be emailed to cannabis.oed@cookcountyil.gov.