Evanston Reparations Program: Eligibility, $25,000 Uses, and Taxes

The Evanston reparations program offers $25,000 grants to eligible Black residents as restitution for housing discrimination the city sanctioned between 1919 and 1969, when redlining and racially restrictive covenants confined Black families to specific neighborhoods and suppressed their property values. As of early 2025, Evanston had disbursed more than $5.2 million to over 200 recipients. The application window is closed right now, and hundreds of verified applicants are waiting for money to become available.¹

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 18, of Black or African American ancestry, and a current Evanston resident at the time funds are disbursed. Applicants fall into one of three tracks, and the track you fit into affects when you get paid.²

Ancestors are Black individuals who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969. They get top priority because they lived through the era of codified housing discrimination.
Direct Descendants are blood relatives in the direct line from a qualifying Ancestor. Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and beyond all qualify, but you must document the family link to someone who lived in Evanston during that window.
Housing Discrimination Applicants are Black residents who did not live in Evanston during 1919–1969 but can show a specific instance where a city ordinance or policy blocked their housing.

The current-residency requirement catches people off guard. Deep family roots in Evanston are not enough on their own. If you don’t live in the city when your disbursement is ready, you don’t receive it.¹

What the $25,000 Can Pay For

The grant is $25,000 per eligible recipient. It began as housing-only assistance and later added a direct cash option after recipients pushed back on restrictions they described as paternalistic.

Housing Uses

On the housing track, you can put the money toward a down payment on an Evanston home, pay down an existing mortgage, or fund repairs and improvements on a property inside city limits. The city never hands you a check. Mortgage assistance goes straight to the lender, and repair funds go straight to a licensed contractor.² You can split the grant across more than one housing use, such as $15,000 toward a mortgage and $10,000 toward repairs.³

Direct Cash

The cash option delivers the full $25,000 as a lump sum with no housing restrictions. You choose how to use it. That flexibility comes with a tax concern the housing track probably avoids.

Tax Risk on the Cash Option

Evanston’s position is that housing-related payments are restitution for past harm and should not count as taxable income federally. City officials have said publicly they are confident the IRS will not treat the housing payments as income. The direct cash payment is less certain. Because the money goes to the recipient without a housing purpose attached, there’s no guarantee the IRS will treat it the same way.

The city updated its application forms to warn recipients about this. Choosing cash means accepting that you may owe federal income tax on $25,000. No IRS enforcement action against Evanston recipients has been reported, but the city has not obtained a formal IRS ruling either. If you’re leaning toward the cash option, a paid consultation with a tax professional before you choose is worth it.

Documentation You’ll Need

You have to prove which track applies to you. Ancestor applicants and their descendants need records showing that a qualifying person lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969. The city requires at least two documents to verify residency during that period.²

Old property records, census data, utility bills, school records, and city directories showing an Evanston address in the target period all work. To prove you’re related to an Ancestor, use birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, military records, and obituaries. Direct Descendants need a chain of records linking each generation. A grandchild, for example, needs documents connecting themselves to a parent and that parent to the Ancestor.

Incomplete documentation is the most common reason applications stall. Gather everything before you file so the review can move.

How the Waitlist and Selection Work

Applications go through the city’s online portal or drop-off locations. The Local Reparations Committee reviews every submission against the eligibility rules, and you get a confirmation when your file is logged.

Funding is limited, so passing the eligibility review does not mean you’re next in line. Verified applicants are ordered through a lottery. Once selected, your status changes to “Ready to Process,” and you can track it through the online system. If information is missing, staff will reach out.

Ancestors are paid first. As of February 2025, 132 Ancestors had received roughly $3.4 million and 74 Direct Descendants had received about $1.85 million.³ The committee is focused on paying the remaining verified Ancestors before moving to other categories. The city says all verified Direct Descendants are expected to be paid eventually, but there are more verified recipients than dollars on hand, and payments continue as revenue flows in.¹

The application window is currently closed. The committee has not directed staff to reopen it, and no reopening date has been announced.¹

Where the Money Comes From

In 2019, Evanston passed Resolution 126-R-19 creating a Reparations Fund with a $10 million goal. The original revenue source was a 3% tax on gross recreational cannabis sales within the city, with all proceeds flowing to the fund until it reached $10 million.⁴

The cannabis tax has come in far below projections. Early estimates put revenue near $1 million per year, and actual receipts have been closer to $100,000 annually. To keep disbursements moving, Evanston has drawn on its real estate transfer tax, depositing $1 million into the Reparations Fund in fiscal year 2025.⁵ The committee is looking for additional revenue sources, so waitlist timelines remain uncertain.

The Federal Lawsuit

The program is facing a federal class-action suit filed by Judicial Watch. Six non-Black Evanston residents whose family members lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 argue the program violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause because eligibility turns on race. Their claim is that tying eligibility to Black ancestry is overinclusive, covering people who may not have personally experienced discrimination, and underinclusive, excluding non-Black residents who lived through the same era of restrictive policies.

A federal judge denied Evanston’s motion to dismiss and found the plaintiffs had standing. The court rejected the city’s argument that the plaintiffs had to apply first, reasoning that people categorically ineligible on the basis of race should not have to file a pointless application. The case is proceeding, and a ruling against the city could force changes to who qualifies or pause disbursements.

Beyond Housing: The Kickstarter Grants

Evanston’s reparations effort now includes an Economic Development Kickstarter Program for Black entrepreneurs, launched in early 2026 in partnership with the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Oakton College.⁶ These grants are much smaller than the housing payments, drawn from a $20,000 fund split into three tiers:

Concept Development, up to $500, for entrepreneurs testing or refining a business idea.
Launch Support, up to $2,000, for businesses in their first year.
Capacity Support, up to $3,000, for businesses with documented revenue and a growth plan.

Eligible expenses include business formation fees, marketing, equipment, accounting and legal services, website development, and insurance or licensing costs. Participants must complete SBDC onboarding and an initial advising session, and they can’t have received funding from another city economic development program. Applications were accepted through March 2026, with funding decisions starting in May and awards disbursed by July.⁶

1
City of Evanston. Evanston Local Reparations
2
City of Evanston. Restorative Housing Reparations Programs Guidelines
3
City of Evanston. Reparations Committee Agenda – February 6, 2025
4
City of Evanston. Resolution 126-R-19 – Establishing a City of Evanston Funding Source Devoted to Local Reparations
5
City of Evanston. Reparations Financial Report
6
City of Evanston. Reparations Economic Development Working Group – Kickstarter Program