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Fox News
2 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Chicago alderman slams mayor's hiring practices as 'giant leap in the wrong direction' amid DOJ probe
Print Close By Adam Sabes Published May 29, 2025 A Chicago alderman says the city is taking a "giant leap in the wrong direction" after the Department of Justice announced it is investigating Mayor Brandon Johnson's hiring practices. During a May 18 service at the Apostolic Church of God, Johnson responded to people who claimed he only talked about hiring Black people. "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," he said. "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 interests of everyone, and everyone means you have to look out for the interests of Black folks." Johnson mentioned top officials who serve in his administration and emphasized their race. One example included his deputy mayor of business and economic development, a Black woman. DOJ LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO BLUE STATE CITY OVER ALLEGED RACE-BASED HIRING After his remarks, Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, notified Johnson his administration is being investigated to see if it utilizes discriminatory hiring practices. Read the letter here "Considering these remarks, I have authorized an investigation to determine whether the City of Chicago is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above. If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions," Dhillon said. Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez told Fox News Digital he's glad the DOJ is looking into the Johnson administration's hiring practices, saying he thinks many Chicagoans have the same concern. CHICAGO'S MAYOR JOHNSON IS SO FOCUSED ON RACE HE CAN'T SEE THE TRUTH ABOUT HUMANITY "I am glad that they are looking into it. I think it validates the concerns that many Chicagoans have had that Brandon Johnson is a mayor, not for the entire city, but for only one demographic," Lopez said. "There are tens of thousands of individuals who work for the city of Chicago who feel as though they have been left out of promotions, left out of advancement or even left out from being hired as a whole even on the front line. And I think that needs to be looked into by the Department of Justice." Lopez said he thinks the city is taking steps in the wrong direction in the way it hires. "This is just one sad step backwards for the City of Chicago to have the mayor articulate so passionately that he prefers to hire one ethnic demographic at the expense of all others. It doesn't make sense to me how, in the 21st century, we've done so much to try to move beyond seeing each other just solely based on race, that we are now taking a giant leap in the wrong direction," he said. The alderman said there are Black Chicago residents he talks to who disagree with Johnson when it comes to hiring decisions. "Let me be 100%, 110% clear on this note. There are African Americans who don't like that statement either. There are many well-qualified leaders of departments who put blood, sweat and tears into lifting up Chicago, who now have been trivialized by his comments and are viewed through a lens of they're just here because they're Black," Lopez added. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In comments made after the DOJ launched its investigation, Johnson said it came from a place of fear. "You can tell when someone is fearful is because they act out," Johnson said. "We have a president that is screaming and having tantrums right now because we have an administration that reflects the city of Chicago, but he would much rather have administrations that reflect the country club. Period." Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for comment. Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report. Print Close URL
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
DOJ takes major action amid California high school sport controversy after trans athlete crushed female rivals
California 's transgender controversy escalated Wednesday when the US Department of Justice announced it would be launching an investigation into the state's high school sports. California was rocked by controversy this week when high school athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley, who is a biological male, qualified for three events at the state track and field championships. In the wake of responding outrage, the DOJ announced Wednesday that it would be ramping up an investigation into the state's high school sports amid fears of Title IX violations. The department said that by allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' sport the state law could violate Title IX - a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination at educational institutions. The DOJ said it had sent legal notices to the state attorney general, state superintendent of public instruction and the California Interscholastic Federation. It also announced that it has joined the US Department of Education's investigation into the CIF and had directed the US attorney's office in Southern California to review the state's policies. 'Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education. It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies,' said Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. 'This Division will aggressively defend women's hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities.' 'The law is clear: Discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal and immoral,' said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. 'My office and the rest of the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to protect girls' sports and stop anyone – public officials included – from violating women's civil rights.' The move comes just one day after Donald Trump intervened on the matter, threatening to yank federal funding to California unless the state prohibited Hernandez from competing. Trump blasted Gov. Gavin Newsom , who he called 'Newscum,' and called the results 'not fair and totally demeaning to women and girls.' 'Please be advised that large scale federal funding will be held back, maybe permanently,' Trump threatened on his Truth Social site. He added: 'I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' Hernandez cruised to a number of resounding long jump and triple jump wins over female opponents for their school at last weekend's California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet. The junior student's victories earned them qualification to the state championships, which will be held in the California city of Clovis from May 30-31. The latest example of a trans athlete competing in female sports comes after Trump's bill to ban that from happening fell into the senate earlier this month. Legislation that aimed to bar trans women and girls nationwide from participating in school athletic competitions designated for female athletes failed to advance in a divided Senate as Democrats stood united against an issue that Republicans leveraged in last year's elections. A test vote on the bill failed to gain the 60 votes needed to advance in the chamber as senators stuck to party lines in a 51-45 vote tally. The bill sought to determine Title IX protections 'based solely on a person´s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.' Hernandez was also in the headlines last weekend after a teenage girl they beat to first place at a track-and-field meet waited for her rival to get down from the top of the podium before posing up there herself. And as the controversy surrounding their participation continues, the trans athlete's mom has been confronted by angry parents whose daughters are losing out on gold medals as a result. In a video which has gone viral on TikTok, the mother in question is approached by another mom who questions why she is allowing her male-born child to compete in women's sports. 'What a coward of a woman you are allowing that,' she can be heard shouting. The parent is also heard saying: 'Your mental illness is on your son, coward.'
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
The Punch That Launched Trump's War on American Universities
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the civil-rights division at the Justice Department, wakes up around 6 a.m. and begins her workday scrolling through X, searching for claims of discrimination. A lot of them, Dhillon said, regard universities. After spotting 'a list of new horrors,' she said,' I text my deputies, and we assign cases, and we get cranking.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOJ probes top Virginia high school over alleged anti-Asian discrimination in admissions
[Source] The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia over allegations that its Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) discriminated against Asian American students in its admissions process. Driving the news The probe follows a referral from Virginia Atty. Gen. Jason Miyares, who announced on Wednesday that his office found reasonable cause that FCPS violated the Virginia Human Rights Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Internal communications allegedly show school board members acknowledging that its admissions policy overhaul was designed to decrease Asian American admissions, with one writing 'there has been an anti-Asian feel underlying some of this' and another saying the proposal would 'whiten our schools and kick ou[t] Asians.' DOJ Civil Rights Division Chief Harmeet Dhillon confirmed her office will investigate the matter, while the Department of Education separately launched its own Title VI investigation based on Miyares' referral. Trending on NextShark: Catch up In 2020, FCPS replaced TJ's merit-based system that included standardized testing and a $100 application fee with a holistic review process that considers 'experience factors' like special education status, socioeconomic background and English proficiency. Additionally, evaluators were unable to access information about the applicants' race. While the new policy boosted Black and Hispanic enrollment, it saw a sharp decline — from 73% to 54% — in Asian enrollment in just one year. TJ also dropped from the top national ranking to No. 14, with National Merit semifinalists falling from 165 to 81 for the first class admitted under the revised process. Trending on NextShark: Parent group Coalition for TJ sued the school board in January 2022, alleging racial discrimination against Asian American students. A federal judge subsequently found the revised process to be racially discriminatory, but an appeals court reversed that decision, noting that the policy did not disparately impact Asian Americans. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case last year. What the FCPS is saying FCPS defended its policy in response to the latest probe. 'This matter has already been fully litigated. A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against any group of students,' the school district said, promising a more detailed response in the coming days. Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Federal Government Sues North Carolina Over Allegedly Faulty Voter Registration Records
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on May 28 sued North Carolina's election board, alleging officials violated federal law by failing to obtain certain details for people who registered to vote. State officials have acknowledged violations of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 but took limited actions to prevent future violations, according to That's left a 'significant number of voters' registered without a driver's license number or other identifying number, the DOJ said in the suit. HAVA prohibits states from accepting applications for voter registration unless the applicant provides a driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. For people without a license and Social Security number, 'Accurate voter registration rolls are critical to ensure that elections in North Carolina are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud,' Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, The filing cited President Donald Trump's recent executive order Related Stories 4/24/2025 3/25/2025 Sam Hayes, executive director of the state board, said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times that the board was reviewing the lawsuit, 'but the failure to collect the information required by HAVA has been well documented.' He added, 'Rest assured that I am committed to bringing North Carolina into compliance with federal law.' The state had not been requiring applicants to list a driver's license number or Social Security number or attest they had neither, according to an A lawyer for the board said during a The lawyer said at the time that the state was revamping its voter registration form. The board approved a motion acknowledging that a violation of the law could occur as a result of the application form's 'failing to require an applicant to provide an identification number or indicate that they do not possess such a number,' North Carolina State Board of Elections Chair Alan Hirsch The board declined a request to contact voters who did not have listed driver's licenses or Social Security numbers because that action 'is not specifically authorized' in the law, and because those voters would not have been allowed to vote without otherwise providing their identity. The board also said it would not tell county boards of elections to refuse to accept voter registration forms that were missing the required information and currently in circulation. Officials said they could comply with the law by instructing the boards to require applicants to provide the required information before processing the applications. 'Defendants have declined to take sufficient steps to cure their continuing violations' of HAVA, the new suit states. The DOJ is asking the court to declare the North Carolina State Board of Elections in violation of the law and prohibit it from failing to comply with the statute. The court should also order the board to develop a plan within 30 days to remedy the violations, DOJ officials said.
