Chicago suburb could become first U.S. city to pay reparations to Black residents

The Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, is poised to become the first U.S. city to make reparation money available to Black residents. Part of a growing movement that has picked up speed in the wake of police killings of Black Americans including George Floyd last year, a decision by Evanston officials could also lay the groundwork for other municipalities and states considering reparations. 

"It doesn't mean every city will do it exactly like Evanston has done, but there's a blueprint there," Ron Daniels, who oversees the National African American Reparations Commission, or NAARC, told CBS MoneyWatch. The Evanston city council was set to vote Monday night on starting with an expenditure of $400,000 to give 16 eligible Black households $25,000 each to be spent on home repairs or down payments on property. Funded by a new tax on legalized marijuana, the council previously committed $10 million over 10 years to repairing the ongoing harm that systemic racism has caused Evanston's Black residents, with the housing initiative its first step. About 16% of Evanston residents are Black.