WASHINGTON (25News Now) – The Department of Justice says the State of Illinois and six universities have suspended a minority-only scholarship program after a lawsuit threat from the department.
The universities named in a DOJ press release are Northwestern University, Loyola University of Chicago and the University of Chicago.
The program was administered by the Illinois Board of Higher Education before being suspended until it can comprehensively review the program with the Illinois General Assembly during the current legislative session, the DOJ said.
“This Department of Justice is committed to rooting DEI out of American institutions, including in the education system,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “This latest victory illustrates that the threat of legal action can be enough to force bad actors into dissolving harmful practices that disregard merit and divide Americans based on race.”
On March 31, the DOJ found that an Illinois scholarship program unconstitutionally discriminated on the basis of race in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellow of Harvard Coll., 600 U.S. 181 (2023), colleges and universities are prohibited from using race to select winners and losers in higher education, the DOJ said, with the scholarship program established by Illinois law using race as a prerequisite for participation, specifically excluding students of some races but not others in violation of federal law.
“While the Justice Department is pleased these schools came into compliance with the law, other schools should be on notice that the Justice Department will not rest until all discrimination is eliminated from our society,” Acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle said.
You can watch 25News – any newscast, anywhere – streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.
Copyright 2025 WEEK. All rights reserved.
