Reparations Survey Aims To Understand How Evanston Residents Feel

EVANSTON, IL — Mayor Daniel Biss invited Evanston residents to take part in a study of the city's municipal reparations program.

Evanston's Restorative Housing Program, the city's first and so-far only reparations program, began providing tax-free grants of $25,000 to qualifying Black senior citizens who were able to document that they had lived in Evanston as adults prior to 1969.

"In Evanston we’re proud of our trailblazing reparations initiative," Biss said in a message to the community, "but we also know that the first steps in a long complex journey require careful analysis, reflection, and, potentially, adjustment."

Biss said the city and Northwestern University have partnered with NORC at the University of Chicago, the nonpartisan research organization formerly known as the National Opinion Research Center, to conduct a survey to determine how residents feel about the program.

The mayor encouraged all Evanston residents aged 18 and above to take the survey and encourage others to do the same.

"Survey responses will give policymakers — in Evanston and beyond — feedback from a broad, representative sample of community members regarding the City’s Local Reparations Program," Biss added. "Your input could help shape the future of reparations, both locally and nationally."

Residents may also receive postcards in the mail inviting them to take the survey. Anyone with questions about the study was encouraged to contact professor Alvin Tillery, director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern University.

As of late last month, two of the first 16 reparations recipients selected last year in a drawing of ping pong balls have been unable to take advantage of the grants ahead of a March deadline due to the restrictions on the money can be used, the Evanston RoundTable reported. City staff said the two grant recipients are receiving state aid for which accepting reparations would make them ineligible.

Earlier: First 16 Evanston Reparations Beneficiaries Begin To Receive $25,000