Liberal Evanston, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, is the first U.S city to issue slavery reparations.
The town dedicated $20 million to this system to come back from tax collected from hashish gross sales.
The primary group of individuals eligible for $25,000 funds are present Evanston residents who establish as Black or African American and have been at the least 18 years of age between 1919 and 1969. Evanston refers to this group as “ancestors.”
Throughout a Reparations Committee March listening session, a pause of this system was introduced after projections based mostly on 2019 got here in decrease than anticipated.
Reparations Chair Robin Rue Simmons shared, “After we made that projection in 2019 based mostly on the curiosity and exercise throughout the business and our zoning, we anticipated that we might have three dispensaries.”
At the moment, there are solely two within the metropolis.
Traci Smith, who resides in Colorado as an actual property agent, spoke throughout public remark, saying she needs to make her means again house when she retires. With the ability to obtain reparations will affect her choice to return.
“My household has been in Evanston for over 100 years at this level,” Smith mentioned. “ I hope to retire in Evanston, and that’s just a few years out.”
Councilmember Krissie Harris (2nd Ward) was involved that beginning a brand new spherical of disbursements underneath the reparations fund deficit would “not be applicable.”
“As a present Metropolis Council, we stand behind it and can till we will get by means of the those who we promised,” Harris mentioned.
In October 2024, Judicial Watch filed a class action lawsuit towards town.
Judicial Watch requested a court docket to reject a movement by the Metropolis of Evanston, IL, to dismiss our class motion lawsuit on behalf of 6 people over town’s use of race as an eligibility requirement for a reparations program. READ: https://t.co/aP4I9PgKMo
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) October 1, 2024
The category motion, civil rights lawsuit challenges “on Equal Safety grounds Defendant Metropolis of Evanston’s use of race as an eligibility requirement for a program that makes $25,000 funds to residents and direct descendants of residents of town five-plus a long time if no more than a century in the past. Plaintiffs search a judgment declaring Defendant’s use of race to be unconstitutional. Plaintiffs additionally search an injunction enjoining Defendant from persevering with to make use of race as a requirement for receiving fee underneath this system and request that the Court docket award them and all class members damages within the quantity of $25,000 every.” By way of a collection of resolutions, the Evanston Metropolis Council created a program to offer $25,000 money funds to residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 and their youngsters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
