Illinois city denied motion to dismiss lawsuit against reparations program

A federal court denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against an Illinois town’s reparations program on Friday. 

U.S. District Judge John F. Kness allowed a lawsuit from conservative group Judicial Watch against Evanston, Illinois to move forward. Judicial Watch filed a class action civil rights lawsuit against the city because of its reparations program. 

The program provides $25,000 direct cash payments to Black residents and descendants of Black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969. Evanston was the first U.S. city to pass a reparations plan, pledging $10 million over a decade to Black residents.

“Evanston’s reparations program provides $25,000 cash payments to Blacks only,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “The Constitution forbids race-based government programs like this. We welcome the court’s decision to allow this historic lawsuit to move forward against this woke, racist program.”

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The City of Evanston argued that the plaintiffs never applied to the program and the application period had already closed in 2021. They added that applicants could not have been eligible for non-racial reasons such as ties to property.

Judicial Watch represents five plaintiffs who allege the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. They filed the lawsuit against the reparations program over its use of race as an eligibility requirement. 

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Evanston issued $25,000 to 44 residents in reparations payments, the City’s Reparations Committee announced in February. So far, 137 people have received reparations payments totaling $3.47 million, and more are expected by year’s end, reaching 171 recipients with about $4 million allocated to direct descendants.

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The city reacted to the judge’s ruling in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“The city is aware of the court’s recent ruling. The city will continue to vehemently defend this case,” a spokesperson for the city said.

Meanwhile, not far from Evanston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to hold a public engagement forum called “Repair Chicago” to “gather lived experiences of harm of Black Chicagoans” as part of an effort to implement reparations.