U.S. Department of Justice will investigate Chicago Mayor for hiring Black people

https://www.yahoo.com/news/justice-department-investigating-chicago-mayor-214800904.html

CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation into Mayor Brandon Johnson Monday over allegations of race-based discrimination, citing his recent remarks at a Woodlawn church in which he emphasized how many Black people he’s hired in his administration.

Johnson received a letter from assistant attorney general Harmeet Dhillon saying there is “reasonable cause” to believe the mayor “made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race,” in potential violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The probe was the latest attack on Johnson, a freshman progressive mayor, from Republican President Donald Trump since he returned to the White House this year and began cracking down on liberal-leaning cities.

Dhillon’s letter quoted several examples of what she said suggests discriminatory hiring practices from the mayor’s Sunday panel with Bishop Byron Brazier of Apostolic Church of God. The appearance was part of a series of stops Johnson has been making on the South and West sides to shore up his Black voter base.

“You ‘highlight(ed) the number of Black officials in (your) administration,’” Dhillon wrote, quoting Johnson. “You then went on to list each of these individuals, emphasizing their race. … You then said that you were ‘laying’ these positions ‘out’ to ‘ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business.’”