Six years ago, Evanston tied its landmark municipal reparations program to a novel revenue source: a tax on recreational cannabis. However, the promised revenue has failed to materialize.
In 2019, Evanston passed a 3% tax on cannabis sales, with the first $10 million in revenue earmarked for reparations to the city’s Black community for decades of racial housing discrimination.
Initial projections suggested the tax could generate about $1 million per year. Instead, it has produced closer to $100,000 — about a tenth of what the city anticipated — said former Ald. Robin Rue Simmons (5th), one of the architects of the city’s reparations program and a member of the Evanston Reparations Committee…