Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a task force Monday that will focus on reparations for black residents in the city.
The Black Reparations Task Force will conduct a study to examine policies that have “harmed Black Chicagoans from the slavery era to present day” and present its findings after one year. Johnson made the announcement at the start of the week of the Juneteenth holiday.
“Today’s Executive Order is not just a public declaration; it is a pledge to shape the future of our city by confronting the legacy of inequity that has plagued Chicago for far too long,” Johnson said in a statement.
“In partnership with the Chicago City Council Black Caucus and our dedicated allies, we are continuing to build on the bedrock of my administration to move forward in reconciliation through targeted investments aimed at rectifying decades of deliberate disinvestment in Black neighborhoods and communities,” the mayor continued.
The announcement did not say what exactly the reparations would be or if they would be monetary. Alderman Jason Ervin told NBC Chicago that cash payments are not the only way to disperse reparations.
“People always associate reparations with money, but there are policy changes and other items that can be done to repair the harm that such policies have caused,” he said.
“It’s about dealing with the policies that created the situations we’re dealing with today,” Ervin said. “I think by studying and understanding what policy changes need to be made to make people whole, that’s the whole purpose of this conversation.”
Some members of the City Council said they would be in favor of using Illinois marijuana taxes to pay reparations, but a source for funds was not named in Johnson’s press release.
The announcement points to “slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other discriminatory practices upheld by public and private institutions has had on Black Chicagoans” as the reason for the task force’s creation. A $500,000 investment was set aside in the city’s 2024 budget to create the task force.
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“These decisive actions move us beyond words and are a testament to my administration taking on the responsibility of this work,” Johnson said. “Thank you to all for your unwavering dedication that has brought us to this pivotal moment toward a more just and equitable Chicago for all.”
Neighboring Evanston, Illinois, planned to pay out reparations for discriminatory housing policies. Black residents with ties to the community between 1919 and 1969 would have been paid $25,000. A conservative legal group called Judicial Watch, however, filed a lawsuit that challenges the program’s constitutionality.