May 20, 2025
The DOJ is investigating Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson after he highlighted the number of Black officials in his administration at a Chicago church Sunday.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is concerned about Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson highlighting the number of Black officials in his administration. The DOJ has announced that its Civil Rights Division is investigating the mayor for possible discrimination.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted the letter sent to Mayor Johnson on X confirming the investigation of the city of Chicago’s “employment practices.”
“When the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a state or local government employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of Title VII, it is the Attorney General’s responsibility to take appropriate action to eliminate that violation, including injunctive relief.”
The letter follows Mayor Johnson’s remarks at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn on Sunday, during which Johnson highlighted three Black officials.
“You then went on to list each of these individuals, emphasizing their race,” Dhillon writes in her letter.
Johnson highlighted his deputy mayor of business and economic neighborhood development, the department of planning and development, and the infrastructure deputy mayor, all Black women.
How Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Is Responding
Mayor Brandon Johnson has not responded to the DOJ’s investigation. BLACK ENTERPRISE contacted the mayor’s office for comment, but his team hasn’t responded.
The investigation into the Chicago Black mayor comes as no surprise. For various reasons, Chicago, a left-leaning city, has come under fire from Trump and his administration.
In one instance, during President Trump’s visit to the Windy City with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he criticized former President Barack Obama’s Presidential Center. According to CBS News, Trump described the center as a “disaster” and blamed DEI and “woke” construction workers.
“I mean, look, President Obama — and if he wanted help, I’d give him help because I build on time and on budget — he’s building his presidential library in Chicago. It’s a disaster,” said Trump. “And he said something to the effect, ‘I only want DEI, I only want woke.’ He wants woke people to build it. Well, he got woke people, and they have massive cost overruns; the job is stopped. I don’t know, it’s a disaster.”
During his first term and first Presidential visit, Trump disparaged Chicago as a haven for criminals. As The Guardian reported, Trump called the city “embarrassing to us as a nation.”
Chicago is one of the most racially diverse cities in the U.S. It has an estimated population of 2.7 million within city limits. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, nearly 49% of the city identifies as white, 28% identify as Black, and almost 30% identify as Hispanic or Latino.
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