Posted on February 10, 2023

Reparations Flopped in This City. Do Democrats Still Think They’re a Good Idea?

Matt Lamb, Washington Examiner, February 9, 2023

While San Francisco considers $5 million in reparations for black residents, a much smaller program run by a liberal Chicago suburb should serve as a warning sign of what is to come.

Evanston, home to Northwestern University, started its own reparations program in 2021, not specifically for the descendants of slaves but for people who fell into certain categories.

“To qualify for the program, applicants must fall within one of three categories: Black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 (referred to as ‘Ancestors’); direct descendants of an Ancestor; or residents who submitted evidence of experiencing housing discrimination after 1969,” the Daily Northwestern explains .

But the small program has run into trouble already: Only 16 residents, who fall into the “Ancestors” category, have received the $25,000. The money, which can only be used for housing-related expenses such as mortgage payments or home renovations, was supposed to be fully funded by a tax on cannabis sales. That fell through, leaving the government welfare program underfunded.

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Other applicants remain upset that their free $25,000 has not come through fast enough. “[W]hen are they going to distribute [the money?]” one resident asked.

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Two recipients are also caught between a rock and a hard place: If they take this $25,000 in city welfare, it may disqualify them from free money from the state.

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A group called Evanston Rejects Racist Reparations agreed that the program does not go far enough. All black people, by virtue of the color of their skin, are victims of a racist world and are entitled to reparations, it argues. The group denounced the “fake reparations” and argued that requiring the money to be used for housing would only enable racist banks.

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