Lawmakers in a Chicago suburb earlier this week approved using taxes from recreational marijuana sales to establish a local reparations program.
The money will go toward job training and other benefits for Evanston’s black population, the Pioneer Press reported.
“We can implement funding to directly invest in black Evanston,” said Ald. Robin Rue Simmons, who proposed the reparations bill.
Simmons said the source of the funds was especially appropriate, citing the “war on drugs” that has led to increased incarceration rates among African-Americans, particularly for marijuana-related offenses. – READ MORE