Evanston determines order for next round of reparation disbursements

Evanston’s Reparations Committee hosted a selection event on Jan. 11 at Evanston Township High School for the next round of reparations fund recipients. A total of 453 direct descendants, those who are related to Evanston residents who were at least 18 years old and lived through racially harmful housing policies from 1919 to 1969, were given a randomly generated number that was then listed in a spreadsheet and randomly sorted to place determined their place in line to receive funds. Advertisement The committee expects to serve at least 80 people in 2024 but could serve more depending upon the amount of funding gathered through recreational cannabis taxes from Okay Cannabis Dispensary, a predominantly minority-owned dispensary that is expected to open next month at the southern border of the city. The new dispensary will be the second opened in the city alongside Zen Leaf on Maple Ave in downtown Evanston. Evanston’s reparations program began after Evanston City Council voted in late 2019 to establish a fund paid for with tax revenue from the city’s adult recreational marijuanna sales. An additional $1 million a year will be allocated to the reparations fund from the real estate transfer tax coffers starting this year...