Lawsuit declares first US reparations scheme ‘unconstitutional’

By James Reinl, Social Affairs Correspondent, For Dailymail.Com Published: 16:18 EDT, 28 May 2024 | Updated: 16:35 EDT, 28 May 2024 America’s first operational reparations scheme has been slapped with a lawsuit that calls $25,000 payouts to black Illinois residents ‘unconstitutional.’ The class-action lawsuit led by Judicial Watch, a conservative group, casts doubt on the future of the watershed reparations program in Evanston, a Chicago suburb. The scheme was launched in 2021 and offers $25,000 payments to black residents who suffered from racist housing policies in the 20th Century. The suit, filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, calls it unlawful because it awards handouts based on skin color. It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits by conservative activists seeking to upend racial justice initiatives. Critics say they stoke divisions between winners and losers and make race relations worse. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, says Evanston’s scheme was ‘nothing more than a ploy to redistribute tax dollars to individuals based on race.’ It ‘unconstitutionally discriminates against anyone who does not identify as black or African American,’ he added. The city says it will defend its reparations program. Poll Do you support...