Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has launched a new initiative aimed at improving the lives of Black residents using $500,000 of city funds.

The effort, part of the city’s reparations task force, includes public events, town halls, and a survey to gather input from Black Chicagoans about harms they have experienced.

The new community engagement effort called Repair Chicago is part of the city’s reparations task force.

The Democratic mayor announced the series of public events with the goal of collecting input from Black Chicagoans about harms they have faced. The city will use this information for a formal reparations study.

Task force funding

The city set up the reparations task force two years ago. Mayor Johnson named his chief equity officer, Carla Kupe, to lead it. The task force received $500,000 in funding from taxpayers.

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In 2024, Johnson signed an executive order that created a 40-member group to address historical harms against Black Chicagoans and their ancestors.

The Repair Chicago effort includes bus tours, panel discussions, town halls, and hearings. The first event happened on Tuesday.

Two more are set through April. A public survey is also open until May 31. Residents can share their experiences online on ‘Repair Chicago’ official platform.

“Your experience is evidence, and we’ve placed it at the center of our work,” Johnson said. “By engaging directly with residents, we are grounding this work in the voices and lived realities of the people it is meant to serve.”

The city describes the process as a way to understand how systemic issues have affected Black Chicagoans over generations.

City budget pressures

Chicago faces money problems. The city is dealing with a projected $150 million deficit for the current fiscal year. A larger gap of more than $1 billion exists in the corporate fund. A big part of the budget goes to debt service and pension costs.

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Johnson has pushed for new taxes on large corporations and other sources to help close gaps in recent budgets. The city has also dealt with threats of changes to federal funding.

Some other places have moved forward with reparations programs. Evanston, a suburb north of Chicago, gives $25,000 cash payments to qualifying Black residents or their descendants for housing costs. Those payments target people who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969.

Why this matters

Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States. Decisions on how it spends tax money affect more than 2.7 million residents. The $500,000 funding for the task force comes directly from city budgets paid by all taxpayers.

The push for reparations raises questions about how local governments handle past harms while managing current finances.

Chicago must balance its books during the ongoing costs for pensions, debt, and basic services. Any final recommendations from the task force would need city approval and funding sources.

The events continue through April. The survey deadline is May 31. The task force will use the gathered information to shape its study on reparations.