Justice Department opens discrimination investigation into Chicago city hiring practices
Source: CBS News
Updated on: May 19, 2025 / 8:22 PM EDT
The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's office Monday to inform him they've opened an investigation into the city's hiring practices. The letter, dated Monday, accuses the City of Chicago of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in its hiring practices for state and local government employees.
The letter says Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the investigation be opened based on information "suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race." The DOJ letter was a lightning-fast reaction to comments made by Mayor Johnson on Sunday at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn. The mayor talked at the church about the number of Black officials in his administration.
This was the comment that set the investigation in motion:
"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."
The Justice Department citing that exact moment in a letter to Mayor Johnson on Monday.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-discrimination-investigation-chicago-city-hiring-practices/
"Price of eggs", "Kitchen table issues", "Working class".
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