The Justice Department has begun a civil rights investigation of Chicago in the aftermath of comments in which Mayor Brandon Johnson bragged that his administration is very heavily populated with black officials.
“Some detractors push back on me and say, ‘The only thing the mayor talks about is the hiring of black people,’” he said in a video posted to X showing comments he made Sunday at the Apostolic Church of God.
“No, what I’m saying is, ‘When you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else,’” he said.
“We are the most generous people on the planet.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson: “The reason I hire so many blacks to run Chicago is because we’re planet earth’s most generous race” pic.twitter.com/b2qEzWOR5x
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 18, 2025
Johnson then said the deputy mayor, planning department head, chief operations officer, budget director, and senior adviser are black.
“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 said, according to NBC.
Johnson accused the Trump administration of trying to “wipe us out of history.”
Should Chicagoans vote Brandon Johnson out of office?
“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.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon called Johnson out on his comments.
“The Department of Justice is opening an investigation to determine whether the City of Chicago, Illinois, is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race,” her letter to the mayor said.
The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation of the employment practices of the City of Chicago, Illinois, to determine whether it has engaged in a pattern or practice of racial discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. https://t.co/wHe55paVsQ pic.twitter.com/TQO1dCDCMX
— DOJ Civil Rights Division (@CivilRights) May 19, 2025
“Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race,” the letter said.
“In your remarks made yesterday at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, you ‘highlight[ ed] the number of Black officials in [your] administration.’ You then went on to list each of these individuals, emphasizing their race.
“You then said that you were ‘laying’ these positions ‘out’ to ‘ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business,’” the letter continued.
“Considering these remarks, I have authorized an investigation to determine whether the City of Chicago is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above.
“If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions.”
The mayor’s office issued a statement saying, Johnson “is proud to have the most diverse administration in the history of our city,” NBC reported.
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