The Trump administration, through the U.S. Department of Justice, asks a judge to stop Evanston, Illinois, from continuing a housing reparations program for Black residents. The effort targets what multiple outlets describe as the first local reparations initiative of its kind in the United States. The program, approved in 2021, provides compensation to Black residents and their descendants who experienced race-based housing discrimination under certain city policies and ordinances, with payments reported as up to $25,000. Some reporting also states the city’s total funding is about $20 million, financed in part through legal marijuana-related revenue. According to the outlets, the city has already distributed millions of dollars from the program for uses including down payments, home repairs, and costs related to interest or late penalties.
In court filings, the Justice Department argues the program is unconstitutional because it relies on race-based criteria and is “racially discriminatory.” The administration is seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the program’s legality, contending that municipalities can address past discrimination through other, non-racially based approaches. The legal dispute centers on whether Evanston’s race-targeted eligibility violates constitutional protections.
