CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson promised Friday to go to court to protect hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money for Chicago schools if President Donald Trump follows through on a threat to revoke the funds from districts that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, though no immediate action was taken.

“We’re gonna sue,” Johnson told reporters at an unrelated public housing event when asked how he would respond. “We’re not going to be intimidated by these threats. It’s just that simple. So whatever it is that this tyrant is trying to do to this city, we’re going to fight back.”

Later that afternoon, the mayor’s press office sought to tamp down his comments in a statement that said, “Mayor Johnson was not announcing a specific legal action about this particular memo but rather, was speaking more broadly about the importance of fighting back against federal overreach.”

On Thursday, the Education Department issued a notice demanding states and school districts sign a certification against DEI policies or else risk Title I funding. Chicago Public Schools receives $1.3 billion in federal funding. Over $400 million are grants under Title I, which targets students who fall below achievement standards.

Trump’s anti-DEI crusade is meant to punish education systems that he says discriminate against one race over another. The issue has been one the freshman Chicago mayor has especially latched onto as he looks to shore up his progressive brand, particularly after securing a tentative Chicago Teachers Union contract that includes provisions requiring Black history education and LGBTQ+ protections in Chicago public schools.

It’s not immediately clear what initiatives in CPS would fall under DEI in the Education Department’s eyes.

CPS officials deferred inquiries on the Education Department warning to the Illinois State Board of Education.

ISBE on Friday released a statement ripping the Trump administration for “attempting to exert power over every district in the country — even as it claims it’s returning education to the states.”

“Illinois will never waver in its commitment to helping every child from every community, background, socioeconomic status, gender, and race — which is consistent with federal and state laws and our values,” the statement reads.

Johnson himself was sued last month by the Trump administration over Chicago’s sanctuary city policy for immigrants. Other defendants named in that lawsuit are Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Though the mayor finished his Friday comments to reporters by warning the White House is “going to meet the muscle of working people, and it starts right here in Chicago,” it remains to be seen whether he will make good on his threat to sue.

Johnson stands to gain politically from standing up to a president who is deeply unpopular in liberal Chicago. He and other local politicians have frequently invoked the Trump specter when deflecting from problems on their home turf — a strategy also employed Friday when the mayor was asked about an ongoing feud with leaders in the City Council’s Progressive Caucus.

Aldermen Maria Hadden, Andre Vasquez and Matt Martin sent back-to-back letters this week warning the Johnson administration against what they claimed were plans to strip each of them of their committee chairmanships in City Council. In the second notice, sent Thursday, the three progressives said Johnson deputy Kennedy Bartley’s response did little to satisfy their belief that the mayor’s team indeed discussed such a move.

“So what we have discussed is how we actually build a more inclusive economy. Some of the things of course that are being floated about, these are not things that are coming directly from me,” Johnson said when asked if his team considered removing those three leadership assignments. “And the important thing that we need to talk about in this moment is how we defeat this tyrant who has put forth tariffs that is going to harm working people.”

As to whether that option is on the table moving forward, the mayor said, “There is no discussion about any of those elements outside of making sure that Anthony Quezada gets sworn in to replace (the) 35th Ward alderperson.”

The roles the three aldermen claimed were at risk were Hadden as council Environmental Committee chair, Vasquez running the Immigration Committee and Martin atop Ethics. Hadden and Vasquez are co-chairs of the Progressive Caucus, of which Martin serves as secretary.

Johnson losing control of the bloc of aldermen who are most aligned with him ideologically this early on in his first term is a troubling sign for his coalition.

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(Chicago Tribune’s Nell Salzman contributed reporting.)

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