Conservative Lawyer Group Sues Evanston Over Reparations Payments

EVANSTON, IL — A conservative organization of lawyers has filed a class action lawsuit against Evanston over reparations payments to Black Evanstonians.

Judicial Watch, argues that Evanston's use of race as an eligibility requirement for its reparations program violates the Equal Protection of the Fourteenth Amendment because, "Remedying societal discrimination is not a compelling governmental interest." The group represents six non-black Evanston residents who are descendants of people who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969.

The city's reparations program was established in 2019 and was approved by the Evanston City Council in 2021. It is the first government-funded initiative in the United States that aimed to provide reparations to Black Evanston residents, and their direct descendants, who faced housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969.

Last week, the Evanston Reparations Committee announced it will soon issue $25,000 payments to 44 additional descendants this year. To date, 137 people have received reparations through the program, totaling more than $3 million.

“The Evanston, Illinois’ ‘reparations’ program is nothing more than a ploy to redistribute tax dollars to individuals based on race,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “This scheme unconstitutionally discriminates against anyone who does not identify as Black or African American. This class action, civil rights lawsuit will be a historic defense of our colorblind Constitution.”

The United Nations defines reparations as measures to redress violations of human rights by providing a range of material and symbolic benefits to victims or their families.

Evanston's reparations program has received $276,599 for the Reparations Fund through the real estate transfer taxes of Jan. 31 this year. The program also gets funds from Evanston's Cannabis Retailers Occupation Tax.