DOJ Challenges Evanston’s Reparations Housing Program

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has moved to join an existing lawsuit against Evanston’s “Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program.” This initiative in the Chicago suburb allegedly distributes public benefits based on race and ancestry, which the DOJ claims is illegal.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon stated, “There are sound ways for a city to remedy past discrimination or direct resources to its most vulnerable citizens and neighborhoods. Simply handing out money based on race, however, is not the answer. It is race discrimination, pure and simple. And it is illegal.”

The DOJ argues that the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fair Housing Act by basing financial assistance on race.

Approved in 2019 and launched in 2021, the program provides $25,000 grants to eligible Black residents or their descendants for home purchases, mortgage assistance, property repairs, or as cash payments. Applicants must have lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 or be descendants of people who did. This period coincides with documented systemic housing discrimination and redlining.

The program has sparked discussions on racial justice, with supporters seeing it as a strategy to address economic disparities. However, the federal government argues that it is “not narrowly tailored,” relying solely on race without requiring proof of specific financial or physical harm.

The lawsuit commenced in May 2024 when Judicial Watch filed on behalf of six non-Black descendants of Evanston residents, claiming exclusion from the program. U.S. District Judge John F. Kness allowed the case to proceed after denying the city’s motion to dismiss.

Evanston has distributed over $7 million of a $20 million fund, using revenue from legal marijuana sales. More payments have been issued to 44 residents, and the Reparations Committee plans further allocations.

In response to the DOJ’s intervention, Evanston released a statement supporting the program’s legality but withheld further comments due to ongoing litigation.

Other cities and states, including Illinois, are considering similar reparations. Nearby, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson launched “Repair Chicago,” aiming to understand harm experiences of Black residents to guide reparations implementation.

The federal government’s request to formally intervene still awaits court approval.

The DOJ did not provide a comment to Fox News Digital on this matter.

Joshua Q. Nelson, a Fox News Digital reporter covering cultural trends, education, and public policy, can be contacted at [email protected].