Illinois Quick Hits: Justice Department moves against Evanston reparations program
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion to intervene in a civil rights lawsuit challenging Evanston’s reparations program.
Judicial Watch filed the class action suit in May 2024, challenging Evanston’s use of race as an eligibility requirement for the program making $25,000 direct cash payments to Black residents and descendants of Black residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969.
The Justice Department’s proposed complaint in intervention names the city of Evanston as a defendant and alleges that the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fair Housing Act.
PRITZKER SIGNS MEDICAID OMNIBUS
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation that provides $110 million in state taxpayer funds during fiscal year 2027 to expand and invest in Medicaid services.
According to a statement from the governor’s office, Senate Bill 3365 builds a foundation to protect patients in anticipation of federal legislation impacting the health care system in Illinois.
SUBURBAN MAN GETS 16 YEARS FOR FIREARM, DRUG OFFENSES
A Prospect Heights man has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for trafficking weapons and drugs. P
rosecutors say Efrain Jacobo, 44, sold methamphetamine, cocaine and seven firearms to undercover officers in Joliet during the fall of 2024. In addition, law enforcement officers found more than 150,000 grams of meth and 1,800 grams of fentanyl during separate searches in Bolingbrook and Wheeling.
Jacobo pleaded guilty earlier this year.
SUBURBAN MAN SENTENCED FOR CHILD PORN
A federal judge has sentenced a Markham man to 33 years and nine months in prison for operating an online chat group that shared large amounts of child pornography.
Government attorneys say Christopher Martin, 46, operated a group chat on the Kik mobile application and required members to share photos and videos.
Martin pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography earlier this year.
Mostly Sunny
Latest News Stories
Lincoln-Way Board Approves $92.5 Million Tax Levy for 2025
Chicago council, ‘starting to legislate,’ sends $16.7 billion budget to mayor
Manhattan Board Approves Kubota RTV Purchase for Sidewalk Plowing
Hegseth promises to fix barracks, but work could take time
‘Long overdue’: Praise for HHS’ action to bar taxpayer-funded sex-change procedures
Gas prices drop, but taxes make Illinois pricier than Midwest neighbors
Liquor License Amendments Approved for Frankfort, Joliet, and Lockport Businesses
Meeting Summary and Briefs: Will County Planning and Zoning Commission for December 16, 2025
Joliet Property Owner Cleared to Convert Non-Conforming Building into Two-Unit Residence
Colorado adopts first-of-its-kind water protections in U.S.
Epstein files redactions frustrate lawmakers
Supreme Court weighs gun owners’ challenge to IL transit carry ban
