Justice Department to investigate Chicago after mayor’s remarks about hiring Black officials

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said Monday that it was opening an investigation into the city of Chicago after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s comments Sunday highlighting prominent Black officials in his administration.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a letter to Johnson posted on X that she had “authorized an investigation” into whether Chicago is “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination” following Johnson’s remarks at a church Sunday.

“If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question of whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions,” Dhillon wrote.

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Johnson said in remarks at Apostolic Church of God that the deputy mayor, the chief operations officer, the budget director and others are all Black people. Johnson said some of his detractors criticize him by saying the only thing he talks about “is the hiring of Black people.”

“No, what I’m saying is when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else,” he said.

“Having people in my administration that will look out for the interest of everyone, and everyone means you have to look out for the interests of Black folks, because that hasn’t happened. That’s how we ensure long-term sustainable growth,” he added.

Johnson had also criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to “wipe us out of history.”

“Black folks will be here in this city and in cities across America, protecting this democracy, protecting humanity, because that’s what Black people have always done,” he said.

The mayor’s office said in a statement that Johnson “is proud to have the most diverse administration in the history of our city.”

“Our administration reflects the diversity and values of Chicago. Unfortunately, the current federal administration does not reflect either,” the mayor’s press office said.

Shortly after his second inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end what he referred to as “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs in federal agencies. He also has ordered investigations into hiring practices that he has said may favor candidates based on their race or gender.

According to the mayor’s office, white and Black employees are a majority of staff members, with 30.5% of employees identifying as white and 34.3% identifying as Black.

Johnson’s office said that it was aware the Justice Department had issued a letter and that it was waiting for official receipt and that its corporation counsel would then review it.

The Civil Rights Division has undergone a major transformation since Dhillon took over during Trump’s second term, with one official calling an onslaught of departures “a complete bloodbath.”

More broadly, the Justice Department has targeted Trump’s perceived political foes since he returned to office for a second term. In January, the Justice Department said it had terminated several attorneys from former special counsel Jack Smith’s office who played roles in Trump’s prosecution over his handling of classified documents and his conduct tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Trump has issued executive orders going after major law firms that have been involved in suing him or his administration. He also authorized Attorney General Pam Bondi to recommend rescinding attorneys’ security clearances or ending federal contracts with law firms if she found their lawsuits against the administration “unreasonable” or “vexatious.”