Evanston reparations fund moved to Black-owned Liberty Bank

Evanston Reparations Committee Chair Robin Rue Simmons announced the $17 million in the city’s reparations fund would be transferred to Black-owned Liberty Bank. The program has disbursed over $4.5 million in funding to Black Evanston residents who were at least 18 years old from 1919 until 1969 and their descendants who were affected by redlining and other racially motivated policies. Funding is gathered through a city tax on adult recreational cannabis, donations and annual transfers of $1 million from the city’s real estate transfer tax. A total of $10 million will be added to the fund from real estate transfer taxes by 2035. Simmons shared the news during the April 4 Reparations Committee meeting, calling the move the “biggest deal” since the reparations program was approved. “This is a way that this repair can be multiplied,” Simmons said, adding that “… $17 million in a Black bank is going to give more lending power and access to Black businesses, Black mortgages that are fair and other forms of support so this is a very, very big deal.” The bank is valued at $1 billion with the closest branch in Park Forest. “If we have inspired more than 100 municipalities to...