A reparations commission in Illinois is looking back through state history to identify what it deems harms committed against black residents.
The African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) released a report that looks at “racial injustice” throughout the state’s history, a Fox News article published Tuesday stated.
The document, titled “Taking Account: A History of Racial Harm & Injustice Against Black Illinoisans,” said:
This report, the first of its kind in Illinois, presents a thorough assessment of how slavery and its vestiges enabled the racial harms and injustices Black Illinoisans experienced historically and continue to experience today. Drawing on scholarly analyses, historical archives, government data, and community perspectives, this report describes not only individual harms, but the accumulated impact of harm over generations. Ultimately, it provides an evidence-based accounting of Black life in Illinois that will help to inform the critical debate over how to repair, redress, and ameliorate these lasting harms.
In 2020, Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists in Chicago, a Democrat-run city, held a rally for numerous people arrested after a night of mass looting and criminal activity, Breitbart News reported at the time.
BLM organizer Ariel Atkins said, “I don’t care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats. That makes sure that person has clothes,” adding, “That is reparations.”
The following year, the Chicago suburb of Evanston approved the first spending for “reparations” for black residents, making it the first in the nation, according to Breitbart News. The outlet noted that Evanston planned to fund the program with a 3 percent marijuana tax.
In June 2025 Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) announced a task force to study plans for slavery reparations, per Breitbart News.
According to the recent Fox article, ADCRC Chair Marvin Slaughter, Jr. said, “Confronting the truth of our state’s history is a necessary first step toward building a more equitable future,” adding, “By grounding our work in historical evidence and the lived experiences of those who have experienced harm, we are laying the foundation for informed and meaningful reparative action.”
