Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Asked About DOJ Probe Into Alleged Antisemitism On School Campuses

Forbes Breaking News

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D-IL) was asked about a DOJ probe into alleged antisemitism on school campuses.

Transcript

00:00I have a quick question on, a follow-up question on the Springfield agenda and then my own question.

00:05Is pushing Springfield to change who's ultimately responsible for paying the CPS non-teacher pensions and the MABF on your agenda for next week?

00:15Well, look, Senator Martwick, who is the chief negotiator and sponsor around our elected school board,

00:23we made this very clear from the very beginning that we have to work to disentangle the district.

00:27That's an ongoing assignment.

00:29That's not something that is necessarily provocated by a trip to Springfield.

00:36That work continues.

00:38And then more than a month ago, you know, on Trump administration threats,

00:42the Justice Department announced it would investigate Chicago for what they allege is anti-Semitism on school campuses

00:47and demand that you sit down with investigators.

00:50What's your understanding of the status of that probe?

00:52Have you gotten any requests or formal subpoenas as part of that investigation?

00:57Well, the first thing that I'll say is that we don't have, you know, tolerance and we will not accept any forms of anti-Semitism in our city.

01:08And I have been quite vocal about my position on making sure that the Jewish community and all of our communities feel protected, loved and safe.

01:20We know that there has been a concerted effort, however, to intimidate and to provocate fear amongst the Jewish community.

01:35And we're going to stand firm as a city and continue to put our arms around our Jewish neighbors to ensure that they have maximum support.

01:45You know, as far as the direction of this particular investigation, we can have somebody get back to you about any specifics related to that.

01:55But what I can say unequivocally is that I'm not going to tolerate it, you know, and, you know,

02:05I want our Jewish siblings to know the profound and deep love that I have for them.

02:14It's a love that, quite frankly, comes from my own personal faith as a believer, as a Christian.

02:24I never want to see harm promulgated against a particular group because of their beliefs, their religion, or just their cultural identity.

02:35It is antithetical to my value system.

02:39And so I'm going to remain firm in my position and continue to surround, again, of course, all of our communities,

02:44but in particular the Jewish community that has been under an incredible amount of an attack,

02:51that they are loved and supported by my administration.

02:53Sorry, are you aware of any requests from the Justice Department to sit down with that task force?

02:58You know, again, we'll get back with you on that.

03:00All right, thank you all very much.

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