President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has officially launched an investigation into potentially racist hiring practices at the Chicago mayor’s office, just days after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was seen on video admitting he intentionally hires Black city officials because, as he put it, Black Americans are “the most generous people on the planet.”
"There are some detractors that will push back on me and say, you know, ‘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,” Johnson, who is black, told the predominantly black congregation at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn on Sunday.
“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. That’s just how we are,” he went on.
Johnson then went through the number of top city officials he’s specifically hired because they are black, to “ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business.”
🚨 BREAKING: Assistant A.G. Harmeet Dhillon and the DOJ Civil Rights Division just launched an INVESTIGATION into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson after he said he prioritizes hiring black people.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 19, 2025
"The reason I hire so many blacks to run Chicago is because we're planet earth's most… pic.twitter.com/rtPLCwI9YV
In a letter to Johnson posted on X, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said she has “authorized an investigation” into whether Chicago is “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination.”
“If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question of whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions,” Dhillon wrote.
The Assistant AG said the DOJ has “reasonable cause” to believe the mayor “made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race,” which would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on 1964.
🚨BREAKING: The DOJ Civil Rights division is officially investigating Chicago's hiring practices after Mayor Brandon Johnson admitted to racial discrimination.
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 19, 2025
His approval rating is at an all-time low of 6.6%.
Slam dunk case for the DOJ! pic.twitter.com/H3KKTclAgx
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Crazy video shows black man knocking over server’s tray of food for no reason.
— MRCTV (@mrctv) May 19, 2025
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