Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said she authorized the probe after Mayor Brandon Johnson's comments about hiring prominent Black officials for his administration.

The US Department of Justice said it will investigate whether Chicago is discriminating against municipal job candidates by race after Mayor Brandon Johnson highlighted the number of Black officials in his administration while addressing a church on the city’s south side.

The Justice Department on Monday launched a civil rights investigation into whether Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration engaged in racial discrimination by prioritizing black candidates for top city roles.