The U.S. Department of Justice moved on June 16 to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging a housing reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, arguing the initiative unlawfully distributes benefits based on race, Reuters reports.
The filing marks the Trump administration’s latest effort to scrutinize government programs that consider race in awarding benefits.
The lawsuit centers on Evanston’s Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program, which provides grants of up to $25,000
to eligible Black residents and their descendants for housing-related expenses. City officials created the program to address the effects of discriminatory housing practices, including redlining and restrictive covenants that affected Black residents between 1919 and 1969.According to court filings, Justice Department attorneys said the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because eligibility is limited to Black residents who meet specific ancestry and residency requirements.
Federal attorneys argued the city’s program is not narrowly tailored to remedy past discrimination and relies on race-based criteria without requiring individualized proof of harm.
Evanston launched the initiative in 2021 after approving the nation’s first municipally funded reparations program in 2019. The effort is financed through revenue generated by the city’s cannabis sales tax.
Mayor Daniel Biss said the city intends to defend the program against the federal challenge.
“We are prepared to defend our program,” Biss said, according to the outlet.
Former Evanston Alderwoman Robin Rue Simmons, who spearheaded the initiative, said the program addresses decades of documented housing discrimination that contributed to persistent racial wealth disparities.
“Evanston has set a new precedent. It has shown that racial reparations are possible,” Simmons said to ABC7 Chicago.
The outcome of the case could influence similar reparations efforts under consideration in other cities as local governments explore policies aimed at addressing the long-term effects of historic racial discrimination in housing.
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