Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson recently signed an executive order necessitating city contractors to reveal their leadership diversity demographics. These companies must also report any affiliations with certain law enforcement agencies, including ICE. Johnson aims to leverage the city’s purchasing power to enforce heightened contracting criteria.
According to Johnson, workplace data is essential to detect discrimination. He criticized the previous administration’s attempts to halt federal reporting mandates, stating, “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.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Johnson of penalizing American firms for supporting federal immigration enforcement. A DHS spokesperson expressed disapproval at Johnson’s stance, highlighting his position as a sanctuary politician and claiming, “Chicago takes the federal check, but it won’t enforce the federal law.” The spokesperson asserted that ICE will continue its operations in Chicago despite City Hall’s preferences.
At a press conference held at Arise Chicago, a nonprofit advocating for immigrant rights, Johnson unveiled the order. He positioned it as a stance against corporate influence in Washington, indicating Chicago would apply city expenditure to reflect its values.
The directive mandates Chicago’s chief procurement officer to formulate guidelines within 90 days. These guidelines would prohibit vendors found guilty of public integrity breaches, workplace discrimination, or wage theft over the past five years. Contractors must divulge if they accrued over $500,000 from government or law enforcement entities or faced allegations of excessive force, unlawful detention, unconstitutional policing, discrimination, or other civil rights breaches.
Large private enterprises, with corporate families reporting net incomes above $1 billion, must submit details of leadership diversity, board composition, and diversity policies, unless covered under Illinois disclosure laws. Under the order, these firms are required to report attempts to employ and promote individuals with previous incarceration records. Future awardees must update these disclosures annually.
Partnering with ICE isn’t automatically deemed a disqualifying act. The executive order excludes firms guilty of specified integrity, discrimination, or wage theft violations, while the public gains access to these disclosures.
Not With Our Money, a campaign present during Johnson’s announcement, identified $3.19 billion in contracts with Chicago that are held by 42 companies also in business with ICE.
The executive order conflicts with federal immigration authorities, notably in October, when Johnson prohibited ICE from utilizing city lots and garages for operations, compelling agents to stage publicly, as stated by a federal agent. DHS reported Operation Midway Blitz resulted in over 4,500 arrests by December.
Fox News Digital sought comments from Johnson’s office but did not receive an immediate reply.
CJ Womack, associate editor at Fox News, joined the team in 2026. With a strong background in analyzing the impact of journalism on politics and culture, CJ graduated from Long Beach State University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Journalism.