DOJ Moves to Intervene in Evanston Race-Based Reparations Case
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division moved to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging Evanston, Illinois’ Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program, which provides cash payments and housing assistance exclusively to Black residents and descendants. The DOJ says the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fair Housing Act by basing benefits on race. Evanston has distributed over $5 million; a 2024 suit by descendants of non-Black residents challenged exclusion from the program, and a March 2026 court ruling denied the city’s motion to dismiss, prompting DOJ intervention.