Evanston Stands Firm As DOJ Attacks Its Reparations Program

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (0:12)
Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.
Stick around to the very end of the episode to get a rundown of the latest news. But first, we're talking about reparations. That's of course been a hot button issue across the country since the abolition of slavery back in 1865 But you'll remember calls for reparations programs grew much louder in the wake of the 2020 uprising for Black lives. And that's when leaders in Evanston also worked to create a first of its kind reparations program to pay back Black residents harmed by generations of housing discrimination. But now that program is at the center of a major legal battle. The Trump administration is suing the city of Evanston, arguing that the reparations program is unconstitutional. While Evanston officials say this program is not only lawful, but it's necessary. So what implications could this lawsuit have far beyond Evanston? In this episode of the pod, we will dig into the suit and we'll discuss what it could mean for the future of reparations. At the table with me was Robin Rue Simmons, founder and executive director of FirstRepair, Mayor Daniel Biss from the city of Evanston, and Kimberly Holmes-Ross, who's a descendants reparations recipient and executive director of Evanston Cradle to Career. That is a group of organizations committed to realizing a more fair and equitable community in Evanston.
I want to start with you Robin, because when that lawsuit was first filed back in 2024, this is Flynn A. Al versus the city of Evanston, you told the Tribune that you weren't surprised at the time. So I want to flash forward to now and talk to me. Are you surprised now that the Department of Justice is now intervening in this?

**Robin Rue Simmons** (1:58)
Not at all. And whenever I did that interview, I probably added that when we began this work in Evanston in 2019, our law department and outside legal support was our greatest priority, my greatest priority, expecting that we would be attacked.
Not at all surprised of the escalation and the timing of it, because we are achieving repair in Evanston. As you mentioned, we have dispersed $7.3 million to over 300 residents, and our city has inspired a movement for other localities. So this lawsuit is not just against Evanston, it is more so against the movement for reparations, to set a new precedent in the way that Evanston set a precedent that repair could be done.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:39)
Yeah, I see it that way too. This is extending far beyond Evanston, or so it feels so far.

**Robin Rue Simmons** (2:43)
Definitely. There's no question.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:45)
Kimberly, did you think that things would go this far? The DOJ stepping in here?

**Kimberly Holmes-Ross** (2:52)
Actually, I didn't. I didn't think, you know, Trump would have time for little ol Evanston.
But yeah, I just, I didn't. So, you know, it's just another way to really, you know, bully people and, you know, think that others should not do this. So I'm really hoping, you know, that we can just stand, you know, for reparations. But yeah, I was really, I was surprised, unlike Robin.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:16)
Yeah. Mayor Biss, talk to us about what exactly it means right now that the Department of Justice is intervening. And why do you think they're doing this now?

**Daniel Biss** (3:27)
Let me answer the last question first. I have no idea what's in these folks' heads. And I don't know why now. This program has been up and running for years. This lawsuit that the Feds and the Trump administration are joining has been around for years itself. I don't know. Reparations was in the newspaper recently. And I think they love chasing attention around like a cat with a toy.
This is an effort to intimidate. What Robin is too modest to tell you is that since Evanston, as a result of her leadership, launched our reparations program, that I do believe was carefully designed and consistent with legal principles and critical for us to repair the harms that we as a community have caused, since that occurred some years ago, hundreds of people have come to Evanston from municipalities, from states, from other organizations, from other countries to try to emulate this because there is a growing movement of people trying to figure out what they can do to repair the harms they caused. And this is an effort by the Trump administration to tell anybody who's interested back off, we're going to come for you.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (4:35)
You touched there on just sort of the careful design of this program. I want to hear from both of you on this. I'm going to turn to you, Robin, because you had a hand in creating this. Tell us more about your role in FirstRepair, your organization.