An initiative hailed as a national first in repairing the harms of housing discrimination against Black residents is now facing a reckoning in court, as a federal lawsuit challenging Evanston’s Reparations Program will be allowed to advance.
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U.S. District Judge John F. Kness rejected the city’s attempt to dismiss the case on March 27, ruling that the six plaintiffs, who are all non-Black individuals and direct descendants of Evanston residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969, have sufficient standing to continue the class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit was originally filed in May 2024 on behalf of Judicial Watch, a conservative activist group.
The suit alleges that Evanston’s Reparations Program uses race as an eligibility requirement for consideration, thereby violating the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause.
“The struggle continues,” said Robin Rue Simmons, chairperson of the Evanston Reparations Committee and executive director of FirstRepair, a not-for-profit organization that supports local reparations efforts on a national scale.
“The city of Evanston will continue to administer its program, honoring its commitment to redress, and continuing disbursements for reparations,” Rue Simmons told the Pioneer Press.
“Fortunately, we have a large community of allies and stakeholders that support the case for reparations…and we’re seeing that advance in real time.”
Established in 2019, the program has since awarded 137 Black residents and direct descendants of Black residents who experienced housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969 with $25,000 in reparation payments for housing fees, according to the suit.
Kness found in his ruling that the city’s argument of requiring the plaintiffs to file for a program that “limits eligibility on the basis of immutable race characteristics would have been a futile gesture,” he ruled.
“Given Plaintiffs’ well-pleaded allegations and the apparent futility of any application they might otherwise have submitted, Plaintiffs’ alleged deterrence by race-based criterion is sufficient to establish Article III injury in fact at the pleading stage,” Kness wrote in his ruling. “Accordingly, the motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) is denied.”
Since the program began accepting applications back in 2021, a total of 456 descendants have applied, according to Ald. Krissie Harris, 2nd, who spoke about the payments at a committee meeting on March 5.
Qualifying recipients must identify as a Black resident who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 or a direct descendant of a Black resident who resided in the city during that time period.
The plaintiffs allege they are direct descendants of Evanston residents who formerly experienced housing discrimination and should be considered for the funds, but were discouraged by the city from applying because they do not identify as Black.
“The Constitution forbids race-based government programs like this,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a public statement following Kness’ decision.
“We need to eliminate the racist eligibility criteria. We need to stop the race discrimination,” Fitton told the Pioneer Press. “If they want to make everyone eligible or end the program [they can], but they can’t continue to have, at the center of eligibility, that someone be Black.”
“To this day, I remain shocked that any public official would think it’s appropriate to give out taxpayer cash simply by race alone,” Fitton said.
In their initial response to the city’s motion to dismiss the case, Judicial Watch wrote that the program’s use of a race-based eligibility requirement was “presumptively unconstitutional” and that “remedying societal discrimination is not a compelling government interest.”
“Among the program’s other fatal flaws is that it uses race as a proxy for discrimination without requiring proof of discrimination,” the group argued.
City of Evanston spokesperson Cynthia Vargas wrote in a statement to the Pioneer Press that the city “cannot comment on pending litigation” but is “aware of the court’s recent ruling.”
“The city will continue to vehemently defend this case,” Vargas said.
The lawsuit is not the only hurdle the program has faced in recent months.
With funding sources dwindling, city leaders have sought out alternative sources of revenue, including a new tax on Delta-8 THC products and the allocation of $310,000 from the sale of 2221 Keeney Avenue in Evanston, an abandoned building in the 9th Ward, to support payouts.
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The city currently collects a 3% Cannabis Retailers Occupation Tax on recreational cannabis sales to use as revenue for reparations, in addition to funding from Evanston’s real estate transfer tax. But cannabis sales have fallen short of expectations, city officials said.
“We all know that we’re not bringing in as much revenue as the city initially projected, and I think both of these items on the agenda are an effort to try to provide more benefits to the many descendants that are waiting,” said Ald. Bobby Burns, 5th, at a March 5 reparations meeting.
Because they aren’t held to the same legal restrictions, Delta-8 products are considered more affordable than their Delta-9 cannabis counterparts and more widely accessible.
Advancing a tax on Delta-8 products could boost readily available funding for the dozens of Black residents who have filed reparations applications and are awaiting their payments, officials argue.
Reparations committee members were expected to reconvene on the 2221 Keeney sale and Delta-8 THC tax on April 2 to come to a decision on a recommendation for consideration of additional funding.