Chicago’s mayor is under investigation after suggesting he prefers to hire black staff.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday opened an investigation into mayor Brandon Johnson over remarks he made at church suggesting he selects officials in his administration based on their race.
Speaking at a service at the Apostolic Church of God on the city’s South Side on Sunday, Mr Johnson told worshippers that “when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else”.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has written to Mr Johnson saying she has “authorised an investigation” into whether Chicago is “engaged in a pattern or practice of racial discrimination”.
Mr Johnson was addressing claims from critics that all he talked about “is the hiring of black people”, given that the deputy mayor, the chief operations officer, the budget director and others in his administration are all African-Americans.
He said: “When you ask how do we ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business, having people in my administration that will look out for the interests 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.”
The mayor also criticised the Trump administration’s attempts 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.
Ms Dhillon wrote: “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 investigation comes amid moves by the Trump administration to align the Justice Department with its efforts to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.
Shortly after returning to the White House, Donald Trump signed an executive order to end what he called “discriminatory and illegal” DEI programmes in government agencies in favour of merit-based appointments.
He has also ordered investigations into companies that make use of DEI hiring practices.
Mr Johnson has frequently clashed with Mr Trump, calling the president a “threat” to black families and defying his efforts to deport undocumented migrants by pledging to uphold Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city.
In February, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Chicago accusing it of “deliberately impeding” immigration officers’ abilities to detain illegal migrants.
The Chicago mayor’s office was approached for comment.