Johnson's reparation executive order is a ruse

There has been no hue and cry from residents for reparations

When a body is riddled with cancer, the hope and expectation of the patient is doctors will be thorough and aggressive in mitigating if not completely getting rid of the disease. In turn, the docs pay no attention to extraneous matters associated with the patient such as acne or a sore knee. Making the patient better by eliminating the cancer is first and foremost.

Last week, Brandon Johnson issued an executive order stating the city will have a task force on reparations. There is $500,000 in the city’s kitty to fund this task force. The mayor’s move is tantamount to the patient having cancer and the doctor introducing an ointment for psoriasis.

The more cynical crowd will view this executive order as a feckless attempt to blunt the long-standing criticism that Johnson and city officials are doing more for recently arrived Central American migrants than they have done and or doing for Black folks who have been here all their lives. Its timing clearly signals he is attempting to distract onlookers from a string of failed policies.

Chicago continues to have a relentless problem with shootings and killings. Now, normal weekends mean double-digit shootings, and sometimes double-digit deaths from shootings. Those numbers coincide with the fact that the Chicago Police Department is light more than 1,000 officers and has been that way since Johnson took office 13 months ago.

There is a mantra stating, “we can’t police our way out of this problem.” That assessment is accurate; however, the city can militate the problem of shootings and killings by adding officers. The $500,000 reparations pot cobbled with some other wayward funds could likely put at least 100 more CPD officers on the streets.

Only in Johnson’s mind has there been an outcry for reparations. Apparently, he is among the few who don’t understand the reparations issues was introduced in Congress 35 years ago and has gained no real traction since. The City of Evanston decided it would be a leader in this arena back in 2019; and five years later is not only struggling with making it work but facing lawsuits over its existence.

Evanston also established a task force for direct descendants of once enslaved Africans. That city decided it would use sales from cannabis taxes to underwrite the program. To date, approximately $1 million has been disbursed of a projected $10 million fund. That amount came after the city added a real estate transfer tax to the pot. Evanstonians who receive reparations payments do so in the manner of housing vouchers up to $25,000. Many Chicagoans will recall that Mayor Johnson’s attempt to get a transfer tax passed here met an ugly demise.

To date, any successful policy or legislation the mayor has had has been limited in impact to niche beneficiaries - teachers, low-wage workers, and migrants. He has yet to deliver a program with citywide benefits.

The Chicago City Council is in chaos, the Chicago Housing Authority identifies a wait list of up to 25 years for some Section 8 housing; and the leader of that authority has long been under pressure to resign; the Chicago Teachers Union is attempting to negotiate a contract that could cost the city billions; the Chicago Schools will open the upcoming year with a $400 million deficit; and only 9 percent of Chicagoans approve of the job Johnson is doing. Logic says those issues, along with the shootings and killings take priority over a reparations plan.

If and when a reparations program is enacted, lawsuits are sure to follow-just like in Evanston, particularly from residents who are not Black.

For Johnson to order a study for something as extraneous as reparations sends a clarion signal of political naivete, as well as cellar-level understanding of government and how it works.

Save the Date — Summer Fling August 3

St. Ignatius College Prep 1076 W. Roosevelt Road

For more information phone 312-973-9718 or WoodlawnProjectOrg@gmail.com