Trump DOJ Probing Chicago Mayor After He Bragged About Race-Based Hiring

The Trump administration is investigating the City of Chicago after Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson bragged about the number of black people he has hired.

The Justice Department informed Johnson on Monday of the probe just one day after he appeared at a church and suggested that he had staffed his administration based on race. In a letter, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Johnson that the investigation would examine whether the city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in employment.

Dhillon told Johnson the investigation was “based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race.”

On Sunday, Johnson appeared at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn and talked about the racial makeup of his administration. He also emphasized hiring “our people.” 

“When we say ‘our people hire our people,’ I just want to name this,” he said, pointing out how the percentage of white people in the mayor’s office had dramatically decreased during his administration making it “the most diverse administration in the history of Chicago.”

Johnson’s office later released demographics of staffers in the mayor’s office, indicating 34.3% are black, 30.5% are white, 23.8% are Hispanic, and 6.7% are Asian. 

He then went on to suggest that black people should be in charge because they would govern for the greater good.  

“There are some detractors that will push back on me and say, ‘The only thing that mayor, 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,” he said. “We are the most generous people on the planet. I don’t know too many cultures that have play cousins. That’s how generous we are. We just make somebody a family member, right. That’s just how we are.” 

He then went on to list senior positions in his administration staffed by black people. 

“Business and economic neighborhood development, the deputy mayor is a black woman. The 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. And I’m laying that out because 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 interest of everyone — and everyone means you have to look out for the interest of black folks, because that hasn’t happened.”

Dhillon said that these comments prompted the question of whether similar racially based hiring decisions were being made systematically throughout the city’s government. 

“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 said. “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.”

Johnson responded to the investigation by saying he was proud to lead the most “diverse administration in the history of our city.”

Bloomberg Reporter Arrested With Anti-Israel Group That Seized Columbia Library

A graphics reporter who was working for Bloomberg News and formerly worked at The New York Times was arrested when anti-Israel activists seized control of Columbia University’s Butler Library earlier this month.

Jason Kao, who graduated from Columbia in 2022, was charged with criminal trespass and given a desk appearance ticket as a result of his actions on May 7. Eighty-one activists were arrested.

Bloomberg reporter arrested during anti-Israel protesters’ takeover of Columbia University library — and is no longer employed by outlet https://t.co/flQD0VqrwR pic.twitter.com/VaavsjR8qp

— New York Post (@nypost) May 20, 2025

“During the unrest, rioters injured two, passed out pamphlets endorsing Hamas’s violence, vandalized and damaged the library, and renamed the building after Basel al-Araj, a Palestinian terrorist killed in a 2017 shootout with the Israel Defense Forces,” the Washington Free Beacon, which broke the news of Kao’s arrest, noted, adding, “Kao’s personal website is exclusively devoted to negative coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Bloomberg News told the Free Beacon that Kao is no longer employed at the outlet.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), the campus coalition of leftists, released a video in which they stated, “BREAKING: THE BASEL AL-ARAJ POPULAR UNIVERSITY HAS JUST LAUNCHED, RECLAIMING BUTLER LIBRARY FOR THE PEOPLE … Over 100 people have just flooded Columbia University for Palestine.”

The group issued a list of demands, including: “Full financial divestment from zionist occupation, apartheid and genocide. Academic boycott of all complicit institutions, including the cancellation of the Tel Aviv Global Center. Cops and ICE off our campus. … Amnesty for all students, staff, faculty and workers targeted by Columbia University’s discipline.”

We reject an imperialist economy of knowledge. We evoke the legacy of liberation and the philosophy of direct action of Basel al-Araj.

OUR DEMANDS: pic.twitter.com/gwKVnowrXu

— CU Apartheid Divest (CUAD) (@ColumbiaBDS) May 7, 2025

Last year, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition publicly acknowledged a deeper truth: they are fighting to “eradicate” Western civilization. They joined with the university’s Bengali Student Association to post a statement on Instagram, as Campus Reform reported.

“We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” they stated. “We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South. Our Intifada is an internationalist one—we are fighting for nothing less than the liberation of all people. We reject every genocidal, eugenicist regime that seeks to undermine the personhood of the colonized.”

”As the fascism ingrained in the American consciousness becomes ever more explicit and irrefutable, we seek community and instruction from militants in the Global South, who have been on the frontlines in the fight against tyranny and domination which undergird the imperialist world order,” they continued.

About Us

Virtus (virtue, valor, excellence, courage, character, and worth)

Vincit (conquers, triumphs, and wins)