City plans up to 80 more grants in second round of reparations

The city plans to award $25,000 reparations grants to between 35 and 80 ancestors in its second round of disbursements, more than twice the 16 grants disbursed in its first round, which began in January 2022.

Tasheik Kerr, assistant to the city manager, and city interns began meeting with all “ancestor” applicants – those who lived in Evanston as adults between 1919 and 1969 – this week to discuss the restorative housing program options. The city doesn’t have a date set for when the next round of ancestors will have access to the funds.

“The City will have a clearer timeline for the next round of funding distribution following the conclusion of these meetings,” Kerr said in an email. 

Kerr said the city can’t disclose the actual number of grant recipients who will be included in the second round without revealing the amount in the reparations fund. That’s because the cannabis tax revenues come from the city’s only marijuana dispensary, Zen Leaf, which doesn’t break out store revenue.

The City Council approved a resolution in December 2022 to transfer $2 million from the general fund to the reparations fund. The committee also secured $1 million a year from the city’s graduated real estate transfer tax to help fund reparations grants.

The order of which ancestor applicants will receive their grants first was randomly determined in January 2022. Ancestors can see where they are in line on the city’s reparations web page.

Property ownership issue

As in the first round, the city will not ask applicants whether they do or do not own property in Evanston.

“We do not explicitly ask – ‘Do you have property?’  as you stated,” Kerr said via email Thursday, March 9. “We review the program guidelines with our recipients and inform them of the requirements of the three benefits.”

The restorative housing program offers three options to spend the grant: home improvements, mortgage assistance or a down payment on a home. The program doesn’t offer a rental assistance option, though the Equity and Empowerment Commission recommended including it as a fourth option in 2019.

Without asking applicants about property ownership, it’s unclear how the city will gauge the number of ancestors who might not be able to use the grant under its current guidelines.

No timeline for Wideman grants

Brother and sister Kenneth Wideman, 77, and Sheila Wideman, 75, were selected to receive grants but almost lost access to the funds because they don’t own property, felt purchasing property at their age and health was unrealistic and lack a direct descendant to whom they could pass the grants. The Reparations Committee voted March 2 to give those two ancestors a cash payment before their grants expired.

Council Member Devon Reid (8th Ward) was the only member of the Reparations Committee who pushed for cash payment reparations to be an option for all ancestors, not just the Widemans.

Reid and committee member Carlis Sutton agreed it’s possible that more ancestor applicants will be in similar circumstances to the Widemans. Ancestors are at least 71 now.

“I think it would be a mistake and potentially leave a worse sentiment in the community if we’re only to make this amendment specifically for two folks, knowing surely well that there’s more folks certainly out of the ancestor group of 120-some-odd people that will be in a similar situation,” Reid said March 2. “So let’s just fix this, and let’s fix it now.”

The committee agreed March 2 to schedule another meeting the following week to discuss the possibility of expanding the option of cash payment to all ancestors. As of March 9, a week later, the committee is still working to schedule the meeting, Kerr said.

Kenneth Wideman confirmed that the city called him and his sister with the news they will receive the funds, but didn’t provide an actual or estimated date when the grants will be issued.

“Staff is currently working with Finance on payment administration,” Kerr said in an emailed response about when the Widemans will be paid.

Cash payment option evolution

The city has been vague on explaining why cash payment of reparations is now advisable. The city’s reparations website still opposes cash payment because the recipient “would be liable for the tax burden associated with the award.”

But Corporation Counsel Nicholas Cummings said the city’s position on cash payment has evolved.

“Members of the new Reparations Committee (rather than the sub-committee in place prior to) directed that staff to obtain an outside opinion/advice on how to accomplish providing cash to recipients and in general, the Law Department has moved from a ‘whether’ the City can do ‘X’ to ‘how‘ the City can do ‘X’ philosophy, thus the evolution on the topic,” Cummings said.

The RoundTable asked Cummings via email if the Law Department recommends extending the cash payment option to all applicants and if the city is concerned about lawsuits for not granting this option to all applicants.

Cummings responded by email, “The Law Department has left the determination regarding cash payment to the Committee and is committed to aiding in the implementation of such a program in a way that will withstand constitutional muster. With respect to potential lawsuits, the City is either threatened with suit or sued regularly. Should a claim arise, the Law Department will deal with it as it does with other claims and litigation.”

The city is also meeting with direct descendant applicants to follow up on their documentation.