Evanston reparations program pays $25,000 each to 44 Black residents

city Evanston, Illinois The Reparations Committee distributed $25,000 in compensation payments to 44 residents earlier this month and is currently looking for other ways to continue funding the program.

Committee members previously reported discussed lack of income from marijuana tax sources due to low sales at two dispensaries in the city. “When you tax something at a high rate, customers are less likely to purchase that product and more likely to identify alternatives,” Tiffany Ingram, executive director of the Illinois Cannabis Business Alliance, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“That’s why you see customers going to other places like Michigan or Missouri if they’re close to the border, or buying from the illicit market, or buying alternatives like Delta 8, which is unregulated,” he said.

Under the city’s decision, Evanston appropriated the first $10 million of the city’s Municipal Marijuana Dealers Occupational Tax (a 3% tax on gross marijuana sales) to fund the program.

“We’re always excited to see municipalities determine how they want to use cannabis revenues to improve their communities,” Ingram told Fox News Digital. “So certainly — I believe — Evanston was the first.”

Another way the program is funded is through the city’s Property Transfer Tax Ordinance. According to a city notethe fund received $276,588 from Evanston’s property transfer tax.

The fund was primarily supported by marijuana sales tax and property tax money because no charitable donations received as of January 31 this year and $1,010 last year. Also, the city reported $55,956.22 For donations made to the Compensation Fund as of September 2024.

Evanston was the first city in the country. pass a compensation planEstablished in 2019 and approved by the City Council in 2021, the program pays $25,000 in direct cash payments to Black residents and descendants of Black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969.

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Richie Greenberg, one of the plaintiffs suing the City of San Francisco over the Reparations Fund, claimed the measure was divisive because it only benefited black residents. (Getty Images)

While committee members consider other sources to generate income, members argued on February 6 Municipal tax applied to Delta 8 products. Councilwoman Krissie Harris acknowledged the tax wouldn’t significantly increase revenue but would “help move the numbers forward” in the compensation process. Daily Northwest reported.

“It’s really important for people to understand that we pay as much as we can afford to, and that doesn’t mean we stop paying everyone,” Harris said. “We need to save funds to make sure we can pay.”

137 Evanston residents so far received compensation payments A total of $3.47 million in aid is expected to reach 171 recipients by the end of the year, with approximately $4 million allocated to direct descendants.

Evanston City Attorney Alexandria Ruggie wrote in a city memo: the city has talent Taxing Delta 8 products as “household management units”.

“A question arose as to whether the city could tax Delta 8 products in the city,” Ruggie said.

“In addition, Delta 8 products are generally quite inexpensive, so tax revenues from Delta 8 sales will likely be relatively small and the impact on the purchase of these products will be minimal,” he wrote.

“Lawmakers and marijuana industry representatives have long argued that unregulated THC products, such as Delta 8, may be more potent than regulated marijuana and therefore dangerous to consumers,” he added.

Ruggie told The Daily Northwestern that Delta-8 THC products are sold in Evanston but are not included in the Illinois Marijuana Tax Regulation Act.

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Evanston’s reparations program was funded primarily by marijuana sales tax and property tax money, as there were no charitable donations as of Jan. 31 of this year. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Ingram told Fox News Digital that the taxation of Delta-8 THC products is concerning, given that they are unregulated. “Delta-8 is basically an unregulated, hemp-derived intoxicant,” he said. “We always say we need to talk about protecting consumers before we talk about taxing Delta-8.”

Illinois Marijuana Business Association submits Fox News Digital a letter he wrote to Licensing and Consumer Protection Committee Chairwoman Debra Silverstein, citing her support for an ordinance that would ban “the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products in the City of Chicago.”

In response to concerns from the Illinois Marijuana Business Alliance and the future of funding for the compensation program in general, a spokesperson for the City of Evanston told Fox News Digital that the city could not comment “due to litigation.”

Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that it was suing Evanston to prevent the city from paying reparations to black residents.

The $25,000 payments to Evanston residents are intended to cover housing costs. The municipality made a commitment focus on housing because the issue is “the strongest case for reparations”.

“There is sufficient evidence to demonstrate the city’s role in housing discrimination as a result of the original zoning regulations in effect between 1919 and 1969, when the city prohibited housing discrimination,” the city explained.

Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that it will sue the City of Evanston to stop paying reparations to Black residents. (Getty Images)

Reparations can take many forms but generally refers to payments or other compensation to descendants of Black Americans affected by slavery or past discriminatory government policies.

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In July 2019, Evanston’s Equity and Empowerment Commission held community meetings to gather feedback from community members on what reparations would look like. In addition to housing, community members identified four other priorities, including economic development, education, finance and “history/culture.”

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