Chicago mayor establishes ‘Reparations Task Force’

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Monday to create a task force focused on reparations for the city’s Black residents.

As part of the executive order, the task force will conduct a study and examination of policies that impacted Black Chicago residents from the slavery era to present day, the mayor’s office said in a statement shared with The Hill. The task force will then issue a series of recommendations and remedies, the office added.

“Today’s Executive Order is not just a public declaration; it is a pledge to shape the future of our city by confronting the legacy of inequity that has plagued Chicago for far too long,” Johnson said Monday.

Black individuals make up nearly 30 percent of Chicago’s residents, per the U.S. Census Bureau.