Justice Department Launches Civil Rights Probe into Chicago Hiring Practices in Correspondence with Mayor Brandon Johnson

CHICAGO (WLS) — The U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into the city of Chicago’s hiring practices on Monday.

The announcement was made in a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson from Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.

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The investigation stems from information alleging that hiring decisions were based solely on race. During a recent speech at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, remarks were made highlighting the number of Black officials in the administration, including phrases such as “the deputy mayor for Business and Economic Neighborhood Development is a Black woman” and “the Department of Planning and Development is led by a Black woman.”

Dhillon said Mayor Johnson emphasized race at the remarks:

The speech also mentioned that the Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure is a Black woman, the Chief Operations Officer is a Black man, the Budget Director is a Black woman, and the Senior Advisor is a Black man. These highlights were noted as part of the administration’s staffing composition.

The letter, addressed by Dhillon, questions if hiring practices for top-level positions reflect similar trends at lower levels. Concern is expressed over whether positions throughout the administration are being filled based on race.

Mayor Johnson also said the following during Sunday’s event:

“There are some detractors that will try and push back on me and say ‘the only thing the mayor talks about is the hiring of Black people.’ No. What I’m saying is: when you hire our people we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet.”

The video in the player above shows the moment Johnson made the remarks highlighted by Dhillon.

ABC7 Chicago has reached out to Mayor Johnson for a statement.