Committee Chair Robin Rue Simmons paid tearful tribute to the late Delores A. Holmes at a meeting of the Reparations Committee Thursday, saying Holmes had nurtured the reparations idea from the 2019 meeting where Simmons introduced it.
Simmons, who said she had known Holmes since she was 5 years old, said Holmes had taken up the project from the beginning.
“She was at every community meeting, every committee meeting that was necessary to even get to a recommendation, and all of those meetings were what informed our process and informed the work that we’re doing today,’’ she said.
Holmes was a member of the Equity and Empowerment Commission, when Simmons brought the idea to it.
Reading a committee resolution detailing Holmes’ work, Simmons teared up and asked committee member Claire McFarland to continue the list of Holmes’ accomplishments.
Several attendees audibly gasped, learning Holmes helped initiatives for Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, where the meeting took place.
Committee member and Second Ward Council Member Krissie Harris wants to commemorate Holmes in addition to a resolution. She touted the idea of naming the future police and fire station buildings in her honor.
“We remember people through resolutions, but in Evanston what we do on a regular basis is remember our icons with buildings,” Harris said.
She wants to propose naming the future station the William H. Logan and Delores A. Holmes Public Safety Building. Logan, who died in July, rose through the ranks to become Evanston’s first Black police chief.
“This would pay honor in a sustainable way past all of us being here and being able to tell the story of these two extraordinary individuals whose contributions to public safety and community have profoundly affected the Evanston community,” she said.
Reaction to election
Simmons also declared that reparations work will continue despite the results of the 2024 presidential election.
President-elect Donald Trump in 2019 had expressed that he did not envision federal reparations happening, when House subcommittee members discussed trying to conduct a study of how to repair harm from slavery.
“We need to prepare for what a Trump administration could mean for the ability for us to govern as a home rule municipality,” Simmons said. “It is certainly disheartening, but not exactly surprising. We do this work because there have been centuries of harm against Black communities and other marginalized communities.”
Disbursement, housing project updates
Committee members accepted and filed the following in their financial report to the city: The Reparations Fund received $55,956.22 in donations and accepted the city’s transfer of $1 million from the Real Estate Transfer Tax in 2024.
The committee gave a breakdown of what ancestors and direct descendants chose under the Restorative Housing Program. The totals are still estimates, and some recipients chose to divide their benefits in the cash and project benefit.
- 6 out of 73 direct descendants used benefits for home repair and renovations for about $132,800.
- 70 out of 73 used cash benefits totaling $1,692,200.
The estimated total for direct descendants — those who are descendants of Black residents who lived in Evanston from 1919 through 1969 — is $1,775,000 as of Nov. 1. None requested to use their benefit toward mortgage reductions or home purchases.
“Most of our descendants already had their homes, they weren’t interested in purchasing a new home,” Harris said.
The committee has contacted 132 of 141 ancestors. The Reparations Committee defines ancestors as adults who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 as adults and who were affected by housing discrimination practices such as redlining.
The remaining ancestor disbursement updates from the committee: Four ancestors requested additional time to select their benefit; two ancestors are deceased and the committee is unable to contact family members; one ancestor has not been contacted; two are deceased and their small affidavits (a form that allows next of kin to transfer property) are pending.
The ancestor disbursements are estimates, and recipients could divide their benefits.
- 30 out of 132 chose to renovate or repair, totaling $732,702.74
- 4 out of 132 chose home improvement and mortgage assistance, totaling $100,000
- 20 out of 132 chose mortgage balance reductions, totaling $438,004.46
- 83 out of 132 chose the direct cash benefit, totaling $2,116,838.11
- Ancestors did not choose a home purchase benefit.
The estimated disbursement total for ancestors is $3,398,544.97 as of Nov. 1. The committee shared in September 2024 that they had disbursed $5 million to both groups.
Harris passed around before-and-after pictures of the home of a recipient who chose to renovate her kitchen. The project added value to the home.
“We did a fair market analysis, and they put roughly 22 grand in their kitchen, and they came out at about a positive $30,000 from where they were to where they ended up,” said Michael Dykes, a liaison for the committee between contractors and the recipients.
“A majority of the people that took this money and they actually tried to repair some of the things that were done and put themselves in a better position to be able to make sure that they can keep their family in this beautiful community,” Dykes said.
The home improvement work was completed by Evanston contractors, according to Dykes. As the liaison between the recipients and contractors, he reported that 15 out of 19 projects are completed, and the rest will be done by the end of the year.
Vanessa A. Johnson-McCoy was appointed as operations and engagement manager for the Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Evanston.
The Reparations Committee will hold a public Town Hall Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Second Baptist Church, 1717 Benson Ave.
