"JUST SAY YES!"
The Illinois Reparations Coalition Spring Newsletter
Who We Are: The Illinois Reparations Coalition (IRC) led by Equity and Transformation (EAT) is made up of 30 nonprofit organizations committed to winning Reparations for survivors of the War On Drugs. The Coalition envisions a just ending to the War On Drugs and have collectively laid out each demand and how it can be met in our Vision For Drug War Reparations! See The Vision here: Bitly Link:?https://bit.ly/EAT-V4DWR
The Big PayBack: On May 31st, 2019 Illinois became the 11th state to legalize cannabis. The recreational cannabis tax act (HB 1438) was praised for being one of the most equity centric policies in the nation and the first to incorporate reparations for the war on drugs. Sadly 5 -years into legalization there has been little progress in racial equity in the cannabis industry and reparations have been abandoned all together. Since legalization was presented by elected officials to be “about reparations” in 2020 the team at Equity and Transformation launched the Big Payback Campaign and organized the IRC to steward it and make reparations for survivors of the war on drugs a reality.
Since the launch of the Big Payback Campaign Reparations has become a hot topic and sometimes a divisive one in Illinois and nationally. The main goal of this newsletter is to keep individuals and organizations that are interested in and support the fight for reparations informed and find ways to plug-in with The Big Payback Campaign and the reparations movement.
Local Reparations Policy Updates
At the beginning of the year Mayor Johnson committed to address reparations by including $100 million for violence prevention in the 2024 budget with $500,000 of it to form a Commission on? Restoration and Reparations: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/chicago-s-progressive-mayor-brandon-johnson-claims-reparations-will-help-tackle-the-cycle-of-violence-amid-a-17-per-cent-surge-in-crime/ar-AA1ma3LW
IRC partners? Conrad Worrill Community Reparations Commission will be engaging with city officials in an effort to ensure that the city addresses reparations completely and in its entirety. Find out more about the Commission HERE
“Three years ago in March, the Chicago suburb Evanston made national headlines when its city council approved what it called a reparations program.The idea was that revenue from the city's tax on marijuana would go to a small number of its residents, $25,000 each. They would be allowed to use the money on mortgage payments, home down payments, and home repairs.
Starting last year, a fourth option appeared in the form of a direct cash payment. There are some who say what Evanston is doing isn't nearly enough, and shouldn't be considered reparations. Conversely, other cities in Illinois and around the country are looking to Evanston as a model. “ -Illinois Public Media. LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE
What’s Happening Nationally?
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In Case You Missed It!
2/29 - The Big Payback Documentary Screening and 2nd Round of The Chicago Future Fund Graduation! Equity and Transformation celebrated the completion of Round 2 of The Chicago Future Fund Pilot Program with a private screening at the Harper Theatre in Hyde Park of the Color Farm Reparations Documentary "The Big Payback. Thank you to all participants that came out to share their stories and all of our members and allies for continued support. The research and data collected during the 1st and 2nd pilot will serve as evidence to support implementing direct cash payments in the form of guaranteed income to Drug War Survivors
4/16 R3 Board Meeting
Tuesday 4/16 the IRC attended the R3 Board Meeting at the State of Illinois Building to distribute information on our Big Payback Drug War Reparations Campaign and give public comment on how funding a guaranteed income program specifically for survivors of the War on Drugs with cannabis tax revenue can fulfill promises of equity and reparations that were made in the passing of HB 1438 (Recreational Cannabis)
GET INVOLVED!
Interested in joining the IRC contact: ORGANIZING DIRECTOR, Maurice Woodard - ? [email protected]