Illinois Quick Hits: Justice Department moves against Evanston reparations program

Illinois Quick Hits: Justice Department moves against Evanston reparations program

Spread the love

(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.

Leave a Comment





Latest News Stories

joliet junior college logo

JJC Receives Clean Audit, Reports $21.6 Million Increase in Net Position

Joliet Junior College Meeting | November 12, 2025 Article Summary:Joliet Junior College received a "clean unmodified audit opinion" for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the highest level of...
Everyday Economics: Rear-view jobs strength, forward-looking weakness in week ahead

Everyday Economics: Rear-view jobs strength, forward-looking weakness in week ahead

By Orphe DivounguyThe Center Square The September jobs report was a look in the rear-view mirror in more ways than one. Because of the 43-day government shutdown, we didn’t get...
will county board graphic

Will County Board Passes 0% Tax Levy, Creating “Unbalanced” Budget Crisis

Will County Board Meeting | November 2025 Article Summary: In a contentious fiscal showdown, the Will County Board voted to keep the corporate property tax levy flat, rejecting a proposed...
Poll: Majority of Americans still support legal immigration

Poll: Majority of Americans still support legal immigration

By Andrew RiceThe Center Square A majority of Americans say that legal immigration is good for the United States, according to a new poll commissioned by The Center Square. The...
New Illinois youth center begins housing youth in Lincoln

New Illinois youth center begins housing youth in Lincoln

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) - After a short delay to finalize staffing and safety preparations, the new Monarch Center in Lincoln...
State officials urge Trump, Congress to address national debt

State officials urge Trump, Congress to address national debt

By Brett RowlandThe Center Square Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and a coalition of state financial officers and lawmakers are urging Congress and President Donald Trump to address the national debt...
Will County P&Z Logo Planning Zoning

Committee Advances Special Use Permit for Used Car Dealership in New Lenox Township

Will County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting | November 18, 2025 Article Summary:The Will County Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a special use permit for a light equipment sales...
Bus 210

Lincoln-Way 210 to Purchase 31 Buses, Citing Major Savings Over Leasing

Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 Meeting | November 20, 2025 Article Summary: The Lincoln-Way District 210 Board of Education approved the purchase of 28 yellow school buses and three white...
War Department, VA have highest number of unresolved audit recommendations

War Department, VA have highest number of unresolved audit recommendations

By Morgan SweeneyThe Center Square Of the 15 federal executive departments that compose the president’s Cabinet, the Departments of War and Veterans Affairs have the most unresolved, open recommendations for...
Nearly 550 truck drivers cited for not understanding English in Illinois YTD

Nearly 550 truck drivers cited for not understanding English in Illinois YTD

By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – The number of English language proficiency violations for commercial drivers in Illinois year-to-date has nearly eclipsed last...
Envelopes with white powder sent to two Texas ICE offices, no public threat

Envelopes with white powder sent to two Texas ICE offices, no public threat

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square Texas remains ground zero for targeted attacks against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. In the past few months, ICE facilities in Texas have been...
Georgia GOP thanks Greene; Trump says she 'went bad'

Georgia GOP thanks Greene; Trump says she ‘went bad’

By Kim JarrettThe Center Square Less than 24 hours after the surprise resignation of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican received thanks from the state Republican Party and...
Texas governor, members of Congress lead effort to ban Sharia law in US

Texas governor, members of Congress lead effort to ban Sharia law in US

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square An anti-Sharia law movement is being led by Texas Republicans, including Texas’ governor and members of Congress. Gov. Greg Abbott this week issued three directives...
California loses one taxpayer per minute, Florida gains

California loses one taxpayer per minute, Florida gains

By Andrew RiceThe Center Square Florida welcomes a new taxpayer about every two minutes while California loses one about every minute, according to new data. An analysis of data from...
Screenshot 2025-11-21 at 1.05.10 PM

Manhattan Appoints Rosemaria DiBenedetto as New Village Administrator

Manhattan Village Board Meeting | November 18, 2025 Article Summary: The Manhattan Village Board on Tuesday appointed Rosemaria DiBenedetto, a public administrator with over 30 years of municipal government experience,...