{"id":2569004,"date":"2026-02-11T20:18:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-city-issues-25000-in-cash-to-black-residents-for-reparations\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T20:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:20:00","slug":"illinois-city-issues-25000-in-cash-to-black-residents-for-reparations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-city-issues-25000-in-cash-to-black-residents-for-reparations\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois City Issues $25,000 in Cash to Black Residents for Reparations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fillinois-city-issues-25000-in-cash-to-black-residents-for-reparations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2569004&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Evanston, Illinois, is distributing reparations payments to black residents who are descendants of people who experienced housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969. The Reparations Commitee announced that 44 recipients will receive $25,000 each, totaling $1.1 million, for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/millions-fear-eviction-under-bidenomics\/\" title=\"Millions Fear Eviction Under Bidenomics\">housing-related expenses<\/a>. This brings the total reparations awarded to about $6.35 million to 254 individuals as the city aims to reach $10 million over a decade. Funding comes from the Reparations Fund, supported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >real estate transfer tax<\/a> and a Cannabis Tax; no private donations have been reported. The program has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-blocks-biden-vaccine-mandate-for-businesses-with-100-employees\/\" title=\"Supreme Court blocks Biden vaccine mandate for businesses with 100+ employees\">faced legal challenges<\/a>, with Judicial Watch arguing that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oakland-to-enroll-600-families-of-color-in-guranteed-income-pilot-program\/\" title=\"Oakland to Enroll 600 Families of Color in \u2018Guranteed Income\u2019 Pilot ...\">race-based eligibility<\/a> is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. Evanston, the first U.S. city to pass such a plan, is also exploring additional revenue, such as a tax on Delta-8 products, to sustain payments.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>More than a million dollars will soon be doled out to black residents of Evanston, Illinois, under the city&rsquo;s reparations program.<\/p>\n<p>Evanston&rsquo;s Reparations Committee announced last week that 44 people will be getting $25,000 each, for a total of $1.1 million, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/02\/09\/evanston-reparations-oks-payments-to-descendants-gets-update-on-dna-connections-with-africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chicago Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All 44 are descendants of individuals who qualify under the city&rsquo;s program that pays out reparations to black residents who claimed they experienced housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969.<\/p>\n<p>The payments are intended to be used for housing expenses, Cynthia Vargas, Evanston&rsquo;s communications and community engagement manager, said.<\/p>\n<p>Through Jan. 31, the city has received $276,588 for the Reparations Fund from its real estate transfer tax. The city&rsquo;s Cannabis Retailers Occupation Tax, which by state edict does not  amounts, also kicks in to the fund.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING); 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\t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>No private donations have been reported to fund the program.<\/p>\n<p>To keep the cash flowing, the city is debating putting a tax on Delta-8 THC products such as gummies or vapes.<\/p>\n<p>Second Ward Councilmember Krissie Harris noted that the city is not holding back on cash to those who qualify, but it has to wait until it has the revenue to spend.<\/p>\n<p>Evanston made history by being the first city to pass a reparations plan.<\/p>\n<p>It set a goal of handing out $10 million over a decade to black residents, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/evanston-reparations-committee-issue-25k-44-residents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Judicial Watch has sued the city over the program, saying it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>In its lawsuit, Judicial Watch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/civil-rights-class-action-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">argued<\/a> that the &ldquo;program&rsquo;s use of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colorado-medical-school-alters-scholarship-after-discrimination-complaint-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Colorado medical school alters scholarship after ... complaint - Washington Examiner\">race-based eligibility requirement<\/a> is presumptively unconstitutional, and remedying societal discrimination is not a compelling government interest.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Nor has remedying discrimination from as many as 105 years ago or remedying intergenerational discrimination ever been recognized as a compelling government interest,&rdquo; the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Evanston dumps another $1.1M in race-based cash handouts!<\/p>\n<p>Evanston&rsquo;s Reparations Committee just greenlit $25k direct payments to 44 more Black residents &ndash; descendants of folks who lived there 1919-1969 &ndash; bringing total awarded over $6.35M to 254 people so far from their $10M&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TSvoG4FVFE\">pic.twitter.com\/TSvoG4FVFE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mitchellvii\/status\/2021410650774225041?\">February 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Among the program&rsquo;s other fatal flaws is that it uses race as a proxy for discrimination without requiring proof of discrimination,&rdquo; the lawsuit continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To date, Evanston has awarded over $6,350,000 to 254 individuals based on their race,&rdquo; Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in September when the lawsuit was filed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The city must be stopped before it spends even more money on this clearly discriminatory and unconstitutional reparations program,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the main points about Evanston\u2019s reparations program:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Evanston, Illinois will soon distribute more than $1 million in reparations to 44 Black residents, giving each person $25,000 for a total of $1.1 million. The recipients are descendants of people who experienced housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969. The funds are intended to help with housing expenses.<br \/>\n&#8211; The Reparations Fund has raised about $276,588 as of Jan. 31 from the city\u2019s real estate transfer tax, with additional contributions from a Cannabis Retailers Occupation Tax. No private donations have been reported.<br \/>\n&#8211; The city is considering a tax on Delta-8 THC products to keep the program funded.<br \/>\n&#8211; City officials say they\u2019re not withholding money from those who qualify; rather, they\u2019re waiting for sufficient revenue to spend.<br \/>\n&#8211; Evanston was the first city to pass a reparations plan and has a goal of distributing about $10 million over ten years to Black residents.<br \/>\n&#8211; Judicial Watch has sued Evanston, arguing that the program\u2019s race-based eligibility violates the 14th Amendment\u2019s equal protection clause and that remedying discrimination across generations is not a compelling government interest.<br \/>\n&#8211; The controversy around the program continues, with supporters emphasizing housing-focused goals and critics challenging its race-based approach.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like this in a shorter summary, a single-paragraph version, or a version that excludes certain details, tell me and I\u2019ll adjust<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2569005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-11T171232.622.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[73633,73632,6413,9128],"class_list":["post-2569004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-black_residents","tag-cash_payments","tag-illinois","tag-reparations"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-11T171232.622.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569004"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2569008,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2569004\/revisions\/2569008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2569004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2569004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2569004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}