Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Evanston, Illinois, seeking to halt its reparations program that provides payments to Black residents. The group alleges the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit centers on Evanston’s policy of issuing $25,000 direct cash payments to Black residents and descendants of Black residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969. According to Fox News Digital, Judicial Watch represents five plaintiffs who say they would be eligible for the payments if not for their race.
Michael Bekesha, a senior attorney at Judicial Watch, said, “There’s a right way and a wrong way to do them. So reparations are to repair. And so we have provided in this country reparations in the past when somebody has been wronged by the government, and we try to make that person whole. The reparations programs that you’re seeing around the country that are being talked about aren’t that. They are just entirely giving money, usually to Black residents solely on the basis of race. And I mean, that’s just problematic.” Bekesha added, “Five people that, but for the color of their skin, would be eligible for $25,000. The best outcome would be for the court to declare the policy unconstitutional, prevent the city of Evanston from providing any more reparations payments based on race, and make whole any non-Black resident or descendant of a resident who, you know, would be otherwise eligible for the payment. The Equal Protection Clause is that the government can’t discriminate against citizens based on their race or gender or national origin. The government shouldn’t pick winners and losers based on characteristics that are completely separate from whether or not somebody has been harmed or injured.”
Evanston was reportedly the first U.S. city to pass such a plan and pledged $10 million over ten years toward reparations for Black residents. As reported by Fox News Digital and citing information from city officials and documents, so far 137 people have received payments totaling $3.47 million; by year’s end it is expected there will be 171 recipients with about $4 million allocated in total.
The funds are intended primarily for housing expenses according to Cynthia Vargas, an Evanston official cited by Chicago Tribune via Fox News Digital. Funding comes mainly from cannabis sales tax revenue and real estate transfer taxes; as of January 31 no philanthropic donations had been received.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch said: “The good news about this Evanston lawsuit is it stopped any other programs from being implemented, as folks have waited. It’s outrageous that the money continues to be spent illegally based on race. I mean, they’re giving people money simply based on race. It denies access to this benefit simply because of the color of someone’s skin. It’s government discrimination,” according to Fox News Digital.
A spokesperson for Evanston told Fox News Digital: “The city cannot comment due to pending litigation.”
