Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot shocked a lot of people last month when she announced that she would only grant local media interviews to “black and brown” journalists. It was shocking because Democrats aren’t usually so openly racist in their policies.
“It’s a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latino, AAPI or Native American,” Lightfoot wrote at the time. “Diversity and inclusion is imperative across all institutions including media. In order to progress we must change.”
Her point? A little bit of racism never hurt anyone.
Her policy caught the attention of U.S. Civil Rights Commission member Peter Kirsanow. He cited the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prevents “official conduct discriminating on the basis of race,” something “any elected official in the United States should know.”
We shouldn’t assume anything from those who ignore the Constitution when it suits them.
“A government official, such as yourself, depriving individuals of opportunities, on the basis of their race is explicitly discriminatory,” Kirsanow wrote. “Government-sanctioned bigotry is the same sort of horrid behavior that Americans of all stripes rejected, fought against, and ultimately conquered decades ago. An objective observer cannot help but wonder why such immoral and un-American attitudes are coming from the Office of the Mayor of Chicago.”
This is happening because the 14th Amendment is no longer operative. It’s been replaced with “equality of outcomes” as the basic tenet of civil rights. That insidious policy ensures equality for some — and less equality for others — based on the color of their skin.
You can argue that “righting historic wrongs” is embedded in civil rights law. And you’d be right. What Kirsanow is saying is that two wrongs don’t make a right. You can’t “right historic wrongs” by creating another wrong.
Kirsanow also sent the Democrat a list of questions including which reporters did she grant and deny interviews, if she and the city of Chicago “discriminate” on race in other areas and in public service, and whether she instructs law enforcement to “enforce the law on a preferential basis.”
NEW: In light of my ongoing lawsuit, @USCCRgov Commissioner Peter Kirsanow wrote a letter to Mayor Lightfoot today demanding answers.
"A government official, such as yourself, depriving individuals of opportunities on the basis of their race is explicitly discriminatory." pic.twitter.com/dWY2blXGx8
— Thomas Catenacci (@ThomasCatenacci) June 14, 2021
Some of Kirsanow’s other questions are very uncomfortable for Lightfoot.
“Does the city of Chicago reserve a percentage of government employment positions for racial minorities?”
“Do you discriminate against people in the provision of public services? If so, why?”
“Do you have different tax rates for people of different races? If so, why?”
“Do you instruct law enforcement to enforce the law on a preferential basis or is there an informal understanding that the law is to be enforced on a preferential basis?”
Recommended: Lori Lightfoot’s Racist Policy Is a Terrifying Omen For America’s Future
Those are questions that might have been asked of Bull Connor, the Mississippi sheriff who turned the dogs loose on children marching for equal rights. A racist is a racist and differences in skin color don’t excuse it.
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