CHICAGO, IL – Homeland Security is accusing Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson of trying to punish American business owners over potential assistance rendered to agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of an executive order signed by the mayor in late August requiring city contractors to divulge ties to law enforcement as well as disclose the “diversity” of company leadership.
On August 26, Chicago Mayor Johnson signed an executive order which his office described as a means to enact “ethical procurement standards to strengthen civil rights protections, promote diverse leadership, and ensure City dollars do not reward corporations that enable corruption or authoritarianism.”
During a press conference announcing the executive endeavor, Mayor Johnson stated, “If you want to do business with this city, we want to know whether the people leading your company reflect the diversity of the communities whose tax dollars are paying your contracts,” a nod to the DEI initiative heavily baked into the matter.
Additionally, would-be or renewing contractors reportedly must also disclose any affiliations over the past five years with “any governmental entity or law enforcement agency” in a contractual sense where rendered services, or pending services, exceed $500,000 in compensation and whether that contracted work resulted in any “summons, complaint, or other legal process in any civil or administrative proceeding alleging excessive force, unlawful detention, unconstitutional policing, discrimination, or other violations of federal or state or local civil rights laws.”
Homeland Security’s interpretation of the aforementioned carveout in Mayor Johnson’s executive order reads like a direct attack on American business owners who may have worked with, or intend to work with, agencies like ICE.
A Homeland Security spokesperson shared a statement with Fox News on the effort coming out of the Windy City, firing back at the framing by Mayor Johnson, who asserts the endeavor is a means to ensure ethical spending of taxpayer money in Chicago.
“If Mayor Johnson wants to lecture anyone about taxpayer dollars, remember what he is: a sanctuary politician who bullies American companies with money that isn’t his. Chicago takes the federal check, but it won’t enforce the federal law. In case Chicago’s mayor forgot, an oath of office is a commitment to upholding the law, not encouraging criminal illegal aliens to break it.”
The Homeland Security statement concluded with, “Make no mistake, we will not be deterred. Under President Trump, ICE will keep enforcing the law in Chicago, whether City Hall likes it or not.”
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