DOJ Investigating Chicago Mayor’s Hiring Practices

During remarks at a church, Johnson said that members of his administration are all black.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson testifies before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 5, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it would launch a civil rights investigation into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office over allegations that he engaged in race-based discrimination when hiring.

In a letter to Johnson’s office posted on social media platform X, DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote that she “authorized an investigation” into whether Johnson’s city has “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination,” after the Democratic mayor commented on his hiring practices during an event over the weekend.

“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 to him.

During remarks at a church, Johnson said that members of his administration are all black and that some of his critics have said that the only topic he speaks on is “the hiring of black people,” according to a video posted by ABC 7 Chicago.

“No, what I’m saying is when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else,” Johnson said, adding, “We are the most generous people on the planet.”

Johnson also noted that his chief operations officer, his deputy mayor, his planning and development manager, his budget director, a senior adviser, and several other top officials are all black. The mayor also said that he was making hiring decisions to “ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business,” which was cited as a possible reason to launch an investigation in the DOJ letter.

In response to Dhillon’s letter, Johnson suggested that the Trump administration is attempting to intimidate him and staff in his office, according to remarks captured in a CBS News video released on Tuesday.

The mayor also said that his administration “reflects the country” and his city, and then he offered criticism of the White House staff, according to the video.

Meanwhile, the DOJ on Monday announced a new initiative to target diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and anti-Semitism on college campuses and within other institutions.

The DOJ launched a new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will use the False Claims Act that was enacted in 1863 to investigate “any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.”

“Institutions that take federal money only to allow anti-Semitism and promote divisive DEI policies are putting their access to federal funds at risk,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate these violations of civil rights – inaction is not an option.”

The initiative will combine the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and Civil Fraud Section, said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who made reference to what he said was anti-Semitic incidents across college campuses in recent years following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas.

Describing the initiative, Blanche said it will work to “identify and root out instances in which recipients of federal funds fail to uphold their basic obligations under federal civil rights laws.”

“The days of using federal funds to further discrimination are over,” said Blanche, who had served as President Donald Trump’s defense attorney during his New York criminal trial last year.

In a memo sent to DOJ staff, Blanche wrote that the department will seek damages and fines in instances where violations are found under the program. However, the DOJ may consider bringing criminal cases against individuals in extreme situations, he said.

The DOJ’s announcement is part of a broader Trump administration initiative to root out DEI in institutions by withholding federal funding. Earlier this year, Trump signed a handful of executive orders that target both federal government agencies and contractors.

Reuters contributed to this report.