Evanston Illinois Has A Plan

On Wednesday, The Western Journal reported the following:

More than a million dollars will soon be doled out to black residents of Evanston, Illinois, under the city’s reparations program.

Evanston’s Reparations Committee announced last week that 44 people will be getting $25,000 each, for a total of $1.1 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.

All 44 are descendants of individuals who qualify under the city’s program that pays out reparations to black residents who claimed they experienced housing discrimination between 1919 and 1969.

The payments are intended to be used for housing expenses, Cynthia Vargas, Evanston’s communications and community engagement manager, said.

Through Jan. 31, the city has received $276,588 for the Reparations Fund from its real estate transfer tax. The city’s Cannabis Retailers Occupation Tax, which by state edict does not share amounts, also kicks in to the fund.

So the city is taxing people who had nothing to do with the housing discrimination to compensate for the housing discrimination. Notice that the payout will be more than $1 million and the money received to make the payout totals about $276,000 so far. Where is the rest of the money going to come from? The goal is to hand out $10 million to black residents in the next ten years.

The article notes:

Judicial Watch has sued the city over the program, saying it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

In its lawsuit, Judicial Watch argued that the “program’s use of a race-based eligibility requirement is presumptively unconstitutional, and remedying societal discrimination is not a compelling government interest.”

“Among the program’s other fatal flaws is that it uses race as a proxy for discrimination without requiring proof of discrimination,” the lawsuit continued.

“To date, Evanston has awarded over $6,350,000 to 254 individuals based on their race,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in September when the lawsuit was filed.

“The city must be stopped before it spends even more money on this clearly discriminatory and unconstitutional reparations program,” he said.

Aside from the fiscal insanity, how long before fraud enters this program?

You Can Only Celebrate What You Are Told You Can Celebrate

Yesterday Fox News posted an article about regulations regarding celebrations in Evanston, Illinois.

The article reports:

The city of Evanston, Illinois, located just north of Chicago, joined communities across the U.S. in celebrating their first in-person Juneteenth parade Saturday, but some have been left wondering why celebrations for the nation’s Independence Day have been canceled. 

The Evanston Fourth of July Association voted to cancel the town’s Independence Day events earlier in 2020 and opt for a virtual celebration instead — citing concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

“Based on concern for public health due to the unpredictability of the pandemic’s impact, vaccination rates, and in cooperation with our local authorities, the Trustees…voted to cancel the Fun Run, Parade, Palatine Concert Band performance and Lakefront Fireworks show on July 4, 2021,” the board wrote in a statement.

But some took to social media to voice their frustration over the decision.

“My home town of Evanston, Illinois is having a Juneteenth Parade and a Gay Pride Parade, but is canceling the 4th of July Parade & Fireworks,” Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of Real Clear Politics, wrote on Twitter.

The article explains:

“We made the decision in March based on the information that we had at that time,” Trustee and Celebration Manager Jamie Black told Fox News. “There are deadlines for permits and to secure the fireworks, as well as taking applications for the parade that happen early in the year.”

“We erred on the side of caution. If things weren’t better, we would have been criticized for being a super spreader event,” he added.

Wait a minute. How is it that the July 4th celebration application for permits had a deadline in March and the Juneteenth parade was put on with very short notice?

The article notes:

Fox News could not immediately reach the mayor’s office for comment on the decision to cancel the Fourth of July celebrations.

But in partnership with Evanston Present and Future — a nonprofit that supports community development and education surrounding Black history — the city of Evanston helped promote a Juneteenth parade followed by community-wide celebrations.

The Juneteenth parade – a celebration of the nation’s newest holiday recognizing the complete emancipation of enslaved people on June 19, 1865 – is not the only community-based celebration happening this summer.

Evanston Pride will host a car parade and community picnic later in June to celebrate LGBTQIA individuals — though attendees are encouraged to bring their own food as an extra health precaution.

Unless Americans begin to reclaim their rights by electing people who celebrate America, we will fail as a country.