Illinois has a reparations commission

Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC)


Illinois reparations commission releases lengthy report of state's 'harms' against Black citizens



The Black Roots Alliance just released its latest reparations report. Gabby Green, the director of policy engagement and research, joined Good Day Chicago to share the findings.

An Illinois state commission that is looking to implement reparations for Black residents released a report laying out what it called the state's history of harms against them on Friday.

"Confronting the truth of our state’s history is a necessary first step toward building a more equitable future," said Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) Chair Marvin Slaughter, Jr.


Slaughter said, "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."

The ADCRC released what it described as its "first comprehensive, evidence-based" report examining "how slavery and its vestiges produce historical harms and continue to generate inequities for Black Illinoisans."

The report, titled "Taking Account: A History of Racial Harm & Injustice Against Black Illinoisans," was created by the commission to trace "racial injustice from colonial enslavement and early statehood through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, urban renewal, and mass incarceration."

The 294-page report lays out "nine broad categories of harm" and "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.

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