UNPRECEDENTED $25K Checks For Black Residents

Evanston, Illinois just mailed 44 checks for $25,000 each to Black residents as reparations for decades of housing discrimination, and the payments—funded by marijuana taxes and real estate fees—have ignited a constitutional firestorm that could determine whether cities across America can legally compensate descendants of racist policies.

Story Snapshot

Evanston announced 44 Black residents will receive $25,000 direct cash payments in February 2026, bringing total reparations distributed to over $6.35 million for 254 recipients since the program launched
The first-in-the-nation municipal reparations program addresses 50 years of discriminatory zoning laws (1919-1969) that confined Black families to substandard housing in segregated neighborhoods
Judicial Watch filed a federal lawsuit claiming the race-based eligibility violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, threatening the program’s future
Funding relies primarily on cannabis sales taxes and real estate transfer taxes, with no philanthropic donations received in 2026 despite initial pledges from local organizations

From Housing Grants to No-Strings Cash

Evanston launched its reparations fund in November 2019 with a bold promise: distribute $10 million over ten years using revenue from newly legalized recreational cannabis sales. The City Council formally approved the nation’s first municipal reparations plan in 2021, targeting Black residents and descendants who lived in Evanston during five decades of discriminatory housing policies that legally restricted where families could buy homes, often forcing relocations to deteriorating properties in the 5th Ward. The initial program design required recipients to use payments exclusively for housing expenses like down payments, renovations, or mortgage interest.

The Pivot to Unrestricted Payments

By April 2023, the City Council unanimously approved a fundamental redesign: $25,000 in unrestricted direct cash payments. Robin Rue Simmons, a former council member and reparations committee leader, championed the change with a powerful argument about dignity and autonomy: “What constitutes reparations to me, what is really important, is that the harmed community gets to determine what repair looks like for them.” Council member Bobby Burns emphasized the practical benefits, noting recipients could now decide whether to invest in home repairs, pay down mortgage debt, buy groceries, or fix their vehicles without bureaucratic oversight or paternalistic restrictions.

The Mathematics of Repair

The numbers reveal both progress and profound limitations. With $6.35 million distributed to 254 recipients at roughly $25,000 each, the current pace suggests the full $10 million pledge might serve approximately 400 residents total. Evanston’s Black population exceeds 12,000 people. The February 2026 announcement of 44 new recipients represents $1.1 million in payments, funded by $276,588 recently collected from real estate transfer taxes—a funding gap that highlights the program’s sustainability challenge. City Council member Krissie Harris defended the measured pace: “It’s really important for people to understand we pay as we have the money, and it’s not that we’re withholding from paying everyone.”

The Constitutional Challenge

Judicial Watch, a conservative legal organization, filed a federal lawsuit arguing that Evanston’s race-based eligibility criteria violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. President Tom Fitton framed the challenge bluntly: “To date, Evanston has awarded over $6,350,000 to 254 individuals based on their race. The city must be stopped before it spends even more money on this clearly discriminatory and unconstitutional reparations program.” The legal argument raises legitimate questions about how governments can remedy documented historical discrimination without running afoul of constitutional prohibitions against racial classifications. Courts have historically applied strict scrutiny to race-based government programs, requiring compelling justification and narrowly tailored remedies.

The Funding Reality Check

Evanston’s funding model depends on two volatile revenue streams: cannabis sales taxes and real estate transfer taxes. As of January 31, 2026, the reparations fund had received zero philanthropic donations despite early promises from local nonprofits and businesses to supplement public funding. Committee members recently discussed taxing Delta-8 THC products as an additional revenue source, though even supporters acknowledge such measures would produce modest returns. The funding constraints create a mathematical problem: if the city maintains $25,000 per recipient, the program can serve only a small fraction of eligible residents descended from those who endured five decades of legally enforced housing segregation.

What Recipients Actually Need

The shift to unrestricted cash payments reflects a deeper debate about what genuine repair requires. Simmons has emphasized that “We cannot get the dollars out to our Black community soon enough,” noting that historically Black neighborhoods still lack neighborhood schools, hospitals, and grocery stores offering healthy food. Critics of the original housing-restricted program called it “a housing plan dressed up as reparations,” arguing that true accountability demands letting harmed communities define their own recovery without government limitations. The flexibility of direct cash allows recipients to address immediate crises—medical bills, car repairs, childcare costs—that structured housing grants could never touch.

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— Gene Melius (@gene_melius2) February 11, 2026

A National Precedent With Uncertain Future

Evanston’s program has become an international symbol of reparations efforts, influencing policy discussions in cities and states exploring how to address slavery’s legacy and subsequent discriminatory policies. The experiment demonstrates both possibility and complexity: yes, a municipality can design and fund a formal reparations program, but the scale of historical harm vastly exceeds available resources, legal challenges threaten sustainability, and fundamental disagreements persist about program design. The 44 residents receiving checks in February 2026 represent real households gaining financial breathing room, yet thousands more eligible residents wait while funding trickles in from cannabis sales and property transfers.