EVANSTON, IL - A plan by the city of Evanston, Illinois to pay reparations only to black people using taxpayer money has caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice, World Net Daily reports.
The scheme hatched by city officials would pay $25,000 from taxpayer funds to black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969, as well as descendants of black residents who lived in the city during that time period.
On paper, the idea is to pay individuals “reparations” for the slave trade in the United States prior to the Civil War and the so-called “fallout” from those practices. In effect, it would pay cash to blacks who never were slaves while people who never owned slaves would be on the hook for the tab.
“The Justice Department is right to join our fight against Evanston’s blatantly unconstitutional reparations scheme,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Evanston hands out $25,000 government payments to blacks only–and the Constitution flatly forbids this kind of racial discrimination. We are happy that the United States is following our lead and welcome it as an ally in this historic lawsuit against a woke, racist program.”
The DOJ has filed a motion for intervenor status in the class action civil rights lawsuit brought forth by Judicial Watch.
Judicial Watch said: “The Justice Department’s proposed complaint in intervention names the city of Evanston as a defendant and alleges that the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Justice Department also alleges the program violates the Fair Housing Act.”
The application for the DOJ to join the case comes under Section 902 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which allows the attorney general to intervene in cases alleging the denial of equal protection of the laws on account of race when the case is certified to be of general public importance, WND reported.
According to the Daily Caller, Evanston has already handed out $3.25 million through the program to at least 141 applicants in total, while the Chicago Tribune claims a higher number, $5.03 million distributed to 203 applicants, according to a September 2024 report. The Tribune report claims Evanston put $1.36 million towards home improvements for black residents, mortgage assistance for black residents, or the down payment on a house for black residents. In addition, the city spent $3.69 million on “direct cash benefits” for eligible black applicants, the Chicago Tribune reported.
In a post on X, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, wrote:
“Evanston’s ‘first in the nation’ reparations program is discriminatory and illegal. @CivilRights sued the city today challenging the program. Other cities are on notice: discriminate against residents–you’ll hear from us!”
dir="ltr">Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say the city “has offered and distributed unrestricted cash payments and financial assistance for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining housing in the city, exclusively to current or former black residents who lived in the city as adults between 1919 and 1969, and to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren,” the report said.
Even though legal experts warned the city the program was likely unconstitutional, they moved ahead with it anyway.
“Under the pretext of paying reparations for events more than 100 years ago, the city of Evanston has chosen to distribute millions of dollars in cash and housing benefits to people because of the color of their skin or the color of the skin of their parents, grandparents, or great grandparents,” Dhillon said in a statement. “There are sound ways for a city to remedy past discrimination or direct resources to its most vulnerable citizens and neighborhoods. Simply handing out money based on race, however, is not the answer. It is race discrimination, pure and simple. And it is illegal.”
Multiple far-left activists and race-oriented organizations have demanded “reparations” payments from whites to blacks as compensation for what happened over 150 years ago. Some members of Congress have also demanded reparations, most notably far-left radical Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).
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