Evanston has paid out $550,000 in cash benefit reparations since adding that option to its Restorative Housing Program in March, according to figures presented at Thursday’s Reparations Committee meeting.
Tasheik Kerr, assistant to the city manager, told the committee that as of Aug. 1, grants have been distributed to 76 people classified as “ancestors” – those who lived in Evanston as adults between 1919 and 1969 – and 22 recipients chose to receive the $25,000 grants as a cash benefit.
Kerr said 17 recipients chose a home improvement benefit and 13 opted to use the money for mortgage assistance. The other recipients opted for more than one type of benefit, splitting their funds among these options, she said.
The Restorative Housing Program, passed in March 2021, initially did not allow for direct cash benefit reparations; the grants had to be used to purchase or remodel a home or pay down a mortgage, and the funds were disbursed to a third party to prevent grants from being considered as taxable to recipients.
The first 16 reparations recipients were selected by a random drawing in January 2022, but two of those 16, siblings Kenneth and Sheila Wideman, were renters who did not own or seek to own property and so could not access the funds.
Grants to the Widemans were ultimately authorized, and the City Council amended the program to approve direct cash payments for all ancestors in March 2023. At the time of the announcement the city did not have a way to monitor whether the cash would be put toward housing or home improvements.
Some recipients have opted for cash and then put it toward home improvements, as it is an accelerated, less-involved process, committee chair Robin Rue Simmons noted at the Thursday meeting.
Rue Simmons added that the uptick in grant disbursement is a significant milestone for the program and is a result of increased staff support.
Rue Simmons, who as a City Council member led the push for reparations, was unanimously reelected as committee chair on Thursday. She gave her thanks to colleagues and community members for their patience as the program has been developing.
“We hear you. We hope that the changes and adjustments in the program are evidence that you are heard,” she said.
Committee salutes Cummings
The committee also recognized the contributions of Corporation Counsel Nicholas Cummings, who will resign from his position on Aug. 11 to take a comparable position with the Chicago Park District. Cummings began work for the City of Evanston in January 2020. His legal counsel has been instrumental in developing and implementing reparations in Evanston, Rue Simmons said.
“He stands on the shoulders of his ancestors and he understands the movement, and as a legal scholar that he is, he understood how to guide us to overcome the obstacles that we faced,” said the Rev. Michael Nabors.
Cummings, who is named in a lawsuit by a former deputy city attorney alleging a racist and sexist work environment, will also be president of the Cook County Bar Association, a group for Black attorneys and judges.
Environmental equity, green home efforts
Other announcements Thursday included an update on the city’s planned environmental justice measures presented by Marlene Odia, who is the equity, diversity and inclusion fellow in the Sustainability and Resilience Division of the City Manager’s Office.
The city has allocated $110,000 to fund an environmental equity investigation that will assess city policies and programs which may contribute to environmental inequities in Evanston. The initiative will also assess needs and develop short- and long-term solutions to environmental inequality.
The Sustainability and Resilience Division is seeking proposals from consulting firms to aid in conducting the investigation. Proposals are being accepted until Aug. 22.
Odia also discussed the Green Homes Pilot Program, which will offer home improvement services, paid for by the city, to homes in parts of the historically redlined Eighth and Fifth Wards. The improvements would aim to lower utility costs for residents, make homes healthier and increase energy efficiency.
Residents can check their home’s eligibility and apply for an audit. The pilot program will repair 50 homes using federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The city hopes to expand the program in the future.
The environmental justice initiatives are part of the city’s multipronged approach to reparations for housing discrimination and structural racism.
“Our work is not complete with the Restorative Housing Program, and we’re hoping to get more input from the community,” Rue Simmons said.
I am proud of Evanston and all the leaders who’ve provided stewardship to the reparations program. No, it’s not enough. It can never be enough. Still, they made a plan, took a risk and did something. They are good civic examples for us all.
And how are the reparations for the native American people going?
My parents tried to buy homes in the 60’s and 70’s and we were forced to take housing where only blacks could live and buy. I and all my sisters, their kids and families are impacted by racist banks and housing determinants used in our times. Why weren’t we considered for reparation? I have called about applications and have always gotten turned down. What do you have to do to get on the list? Will there ever be another list? I remember going with my father to find apartments and housing we could live in and seeing the look in his face from before being turned away from banks and realtors alike. Why have we been denied?
This story is misleading. You say grants have been distributed to 76 people but the headline says $500,000 has been handed out. The reality is that this program is an abject failure. If monies are to be distributed then the City should cut checks. The inability to do that defies explanation. I pray to God that other cities not replicate the terrible effort in Evanston.
As I understand the figures in the article, the $550,000 figure in cash benefit reparation payments went to 22 ancestor recipients, which calculates correctly at 22 x $25,000 = $550,000. The others among the total of 76 recipients chose not to receive a direct cash benefit, but to have their $25,000 go instead toward mortgage payments or home improvements.
What’s misleading? Twenty two recipients elected the cash option of $25,000, amounting to $550,000. The remaining fifty four recipients made a different choice than the cash only option.