Evanston faces a DOJ challenge to its pioneering reparations program, the first of its kind in the U.S.; the city remains a Cook County suburb near Lake Michigan.
The city’s $25,000 reparations payments to Black residents and descendants have drawn a federal challenge. The Department of Justice has moved to join a lawsuit alleging the program violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Fair Housing Act. Supporters say the program addresses historic discrimination; opponents call it race-based. The case highlights a national debate over reparations.