Illinois Town First In U.S. To Offer Reparations To Blacks

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – Evanston, Illinois, has become the first U.S. city to make reparations available to its Black residents for past discrimination and the lingering effects of slavery.  The Chicago suburb’s City Council voted 8-1 to distribute $400,000 to eligible black households. Each qualifying household would get $25,000 for home repairs or down payments on property.  The program is being funded through donations and revenue from a 3% tax on the sale of recreational marijuana. The city has pledged to distribute $10 million over 10 years.  Qualifying residents must either have lived in or been a direct descendant of a Black person who lived in Evanston between 1919 to 1969 and who suffered discrimination in housing because of city ordinances, policies or practices.  Alderman Rue Simmons, who proposed the program adopted in 2019, said pro-reparations groups have offered pro-bono legal assistance if the program is challenged in court.
Simmons says, “This is set aside for an injured community that happens to be Black, that was injured by the city of Evanston for anti-Black housing policies.”