Trump administration seeks to stop Chicago suburb reparations program
Federal prosecutors say the city’s $10 million program illegally provides housing grants based on race, while Evanston says it is correcting historic discrimination.
- On Wednesday, the Justice Department joined a pending civil rights lawsuit against the City of Evanston, Illinois, seeking to halt the municipal housing reparations program for Black residents.
- Evanston launched its Restorative Housing Program in 2021 to compensate Black residents and their descendants for historic housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969, funded by a 3% cannabis tax.
- Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division argued the program violates the Fair Housing Act and Equal Protection Clause by "offering and providing financial assistance for housing because of race."
- Evanston Mayor Daniel Bliss stated the city remains "confident in its constitutionality" and will defend the program, with the next court hearing scheduled for August 6.
- Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton noted the federal intervention may affect other nationwide reparations initiatives, while the city faces a July 20 deadline to file its response to the motion.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Feds seek to join case to halt Evanston black ‘reparations’ payments – Legal Newsline
According to published reports, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss has pledged to continue to defend the city's program in court against the federal interventions. Biss reportedly said: "We stand behind our first-in-the-nation reparations program, are confident in its constitutionality, and look forward to defending it in court."
‘Racial Discrimination, Pure And Simple’: Trump Administration Challenges Reparations Plan In Illinois
By Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal | June 17, 2026 The Trump administration has struck another blow against DEI, this time issuing a lawsuit against a “first of its kind” racial reparations program in Illinois. In 2019, the city of Evanston, Illinois, approved a “Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program” that was set to hand out tens of millions of dollars to residents—or the descendants of residents—who had allegedly been discriminated a…
DOJ Sues to Kill Evanston's Reparations Program
The Department of Justice moved Wednesday to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging Evanston, Illinois’s reparations program, alleging the city’s practice of distributing cash payments and housing assistance exclusively to Black residents violates the U.S. Constitution and federal fair housing law. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division filed a proposed complaint in intervention contending the program runs afoul of the Equal Protection Clause of th…
DOJ Joins Case Against Housing ‘Reparations’ Program: ‘Race Discrimination, Pure and Simple.’
The Department of Justice has joined a lawsuit against the city of Evanston, Illinois, alleging its housing “reparations” program violates federal anti-discrimination laws.PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has joined a lawsuit against the city of Evanston in Illinois over its housing “reparations” program. DETAIL: The DOJ claims that Evanston’s housing program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amend…
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