The Justice Department announced it is launching a civil rights investigation into the city of Chicago over the hiring of Black employees.
The investigation, from the department's Civil Rights Division concerns whether Mayor Brandon Johnson has made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race, after the mayor "highlighted the number of Black officials in your administration," while speaking at a church on Sunday.
"Business and economic neighborhood development, the deputy mayor is a Black woman," Johnson said. "Department of planning and development is a Black woman...Infrastructure, deputy mayor is a Black woman. Chief operations officer is a Black man. Budget director is a Black woman. Senior advisor is a Black man."
Johson said he was laying the positions out to "ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business," the head of the civil rights division, Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a letter to the mayor's office.
"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," 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."
In a statement to The New York Times, Johnson's office said his administration "reflects the diversity and values of Chicago."
"Unfortunately, the current federal administration does not reflect either," the mayor's office said.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.