DOJ challenges Evanston reparations program as unconstitutional race-based aid

The Justice Department joined a lawsuit opposing Evanston, Illinois’s reparations program, arguing that awarding benefits based on race—designed to compensate Black residents for housing discrimination—violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Fair Housing Act. Evanston has distributed about $5 million in cash grants and housing assistance to 212 applicants, with eligibility limited to descendants of Black residents or people who experienced housing discrimination after 1969. The DOJ’s move, part of broader Republican concerns about race-conscious policies, frames the program as race discrimination rather than restorative policy.