Chicago mayor signs order requiring contractors to disclose leadership diversity and ICE ties
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order requiring city contractors to report leadership diversity data and disclose any business with federal law enforcement agencies, drawing sharp criticism from the Department of Homeland Security.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Wednesday requiring companies that do business with the city to disclose leadership diversity demographics and report any ties to federal law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The move uses Chicago's purchasing power to impose new contracting standards, with Johnson arguing that taxpayer dollars should not flow to companies whose leadership does not reflect the communities they serve.
«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,» Johnson said during a press conference at Arise Chicago, a nonprofit focused on immigrants' rights. The mayor framed the order as a response to corporate influence in Washington and said Chicago would use its spending to put its values into practice. He also cited the need for workplace data to identify discrimination, criticizing the Trump administration's efforts to end federal reporting requirements.
The Department of Homeland Security responded sharply, accusing Johnson of punishing American companies for assisting federal immigration enforcement. «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,» a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson added that ICE will continue enforcing the law in Chicago «whether City Hall likes it or not.»
The executive order directs Chicago's chief procurement officer to develop rules within 90 days barring vendors found to have committed public integrity, workplace discrimination, or wage theft violations during the previous five years. Contractors must also disclose whether they received more than $500,000 from government or law enforcement agencies, or face proceedings alleging excessive force, unlawful detention, unconstitutional policing, discrimination, or other civil rights violations.
Large private companies with corporate families reporting at least $1 billion in net income must provide information about leadership diversity, board composition, and diversity policies when not already covered by Illinois reporting law. Contractors must also report efforts to hire and promote formerly incarcerated people, and future awardees must update the disclosures at least annually. Doing business with ICE alone is not listed as a disqualifying offense, but the order disqualifies firms for specified integrity, discrimination, or wage theft violations while making the disclosures public.
The campaign group Not With Our Money, which joined Johnson at the announcement, identified $3.19 billion in Chicago contracts held by 42 firms that also do business with ICE, according to the group's research. Johnson's order references an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proposal to rescind requirements for employers to file annual EEO reports containing aggregate employee race, sex, and job-category data. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said the reports risked hindering enforcement of equal employment laws and raised constitutional concerns.
The order marks Johnson's latest clash with federal immigration authorities. In October, Johnson barred ICE from using city parking lots and garages for operations, a policy a federal agent said forced agents to stage in public and created operational risks. DHS said Operation Midway Blitz had resulted in more than 4,500 arrests by December. Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
