Chicago, St. Paul sue Justice Department over community policing DEI restrictions, saying they're illegal
The City of Chicago is suing the U.S. Department of Justice over restrictions on community policing hiring that the Johnson administration says are illegal.
The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, joined the federal lawsuit as well, which challenges what Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says are "illegal conditions" imposed on a $6.25 million grant from the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Program.
The lawsuit claims the Justice Department has unlawfully restricted the grant by requiring cities to certify they do not use the grant funds to operate any Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, programs.
The suit says the Trump Administration does not have the authority to impose these new conditions, and that the DOJ's action violates constitutional separation of powers, as they have not been authorized by Congress, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The suit alleges the new requirements "effectively hold community policing funds hostage to the administration's political agenda."
The city said Chicago has received the COPS grant since 2009, using it to recruit and train officers who build trust in communities to improve public safety around the city. This year's grant was earmarked to hire approximately 50 officers filling critical vacancies, the city said.
Chicago and St. Paul are asking the federal court to declare the conditions illegal, restrain the Justice Department from enforcing them and vacate the requirements as void. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois.
The office of St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter released this statement:
"COPS grant funding was created to strengthen community policing, not serve as a conditional bargaining chip to enforce unrelated mandates."
"Saint Paul proudly joins Chicago in challenging the federal government's unlawful withholding of this critical funding. This undermines local authority and diverts resources from proven, community-driven public safety strategies. We remain committed to protecting our residents, upholding the rule of law, and stopping the federal government from imposing requirements that Congress never authorized."