Analysis Finds Nearly Half Of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Appointees Are Black Amid DOJ Probe
Last week, we reported that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division launched an investigation into the hiring practices of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. The investigation appears to be prompted by a single conversation in which the mayor boasted about the diversity during a sit-down with Bishop Byron Brazier of the Apostolic Church of God.
“There are some detractors that will push back on me and say, ‘The only thing the mayor talks about is the hiring of Black people,’” Johnson told Brazier, according to local newsletter WTTW. “No. What I’m saying is when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet. I don’t know too many cultures that have play cousins.”
WTTW published an analysis of the racial and breakdown of Johnson appointees over the last two years and found that nearly half the officials he has hired to important positions in the city are Black. The analysis also found that more than half of his appointees are women.
Now, does the demographic breakdown of Johnson’s administration perfectly reflect the city’s demographic makeup? Not really, but it’s close enough that Trump officials wouldn’t have even noticed any perceived racial disparity if there wasn’t a video that showed Johnson boasting about diversity. Either way, the MAGA-fied probe into his hiring practices seems to represent a continuation of the Trump administration’s practice of abusing its power to wage its propaganda-reliant war on DEI. That effort is especially rich coming from an administration that has been overwhelmingly filled with woefully underqualified white people who barely go a day without demonstrating how much they don’t even know about the offices they have been appointed to, which Johnson recently noted in response to the DOJ investigation into his office.
“My administration reflects the country, reflects the city,” Johnson said. “His (Trump’s) administration reflects the country club.”
According to WTTW, approximately 47% of the Chicagoans Johnson appointed to various offices over the past two years were Black. Another 22% were white, 24% were Latino and 5% were Asian. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Chicago is 31.4% White, 29.9% Latino, 28.7% Black and 6.9% Asian.
The analysis of Johnson’s appointees is broken down into three categories: departments, boards and committees that require City Council confirmation; Johnson’s closest advisors; and his appointments to the Chicago Board of Education.
From WTTW:
Of the nearly 75 appointments Johnson made that required City Council confirmation, 48% were Black. Another 23% were White, another 23% were Latino and 5% were Asian, according to WTTW News’ analysis. The appointments were evenly split between men and women, according to the analysis.
Nearly half of Johnson’s 25-member senior staff is Black; the staff is nearly equally divided between men and women, according to the analysis. Latino Chicagoans make up 24% of his senior staff, with White Chicagoans making up another 24%, according to the analysis. Johnson has one Asian American among his senior staff, according to WTTW News’ analysis.
In all, 105 people serve in the mayor’s office, according to an analysis released by Johnson’s office in the wake of the announcement of the federal probe. They are 34% Black, 30% White, 24% Latino and 7% Asian American, officials said.
After the members of the Chicago Board of Education that the mayor appointed in July 2023 resigned in October amid a budget crisis, Johnson appointed 13 members to replace them and serve on the first partially elected board to run Chicago Public Schools.
Approximately 46% of the Chicagoans Johnson appointed to the school board were Black, including board president Sean Harden. Another 30% were Latino, another 15% were Latino and 8% were Asian, according to WTTW News’ analysis. Nearly 70% were women, according to the analysis.
So, is Johnson prioritizing the hiring of Black people, or does he hire so many Black people because so many Black people happen to be qualified? Or is it both?
Actually, a better question is this: Is President Donald Trump’s administration about to dig into the racial breakdown of city appointees in every city in America, and will it launch investigations into any city that has disproportionately hired white people?
If we’re being honest, we already know the answer.
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