The Trump administration is seeking to lend the weight of the federal government to an effort to strike down an Illinois state law critics say effectively will force nonprofit organizations to discriminate, most likely against heterosexual white males and in favor of those of other, races, genders and other identifiers more preferred by Illinois' liberal Democratic state officials when choosing their leadership and staff.
On March 4, the Justice Department filed a motion to intervene in the legal action against the state of Illinois to support the position staked out by the organization known as the American Alliance for Equal Rights, as they seek a court order blocking the state from enforcing its law.
"Today’s intervention is an early step toward eradicating illegal race and sex preferences across the government," the DOJ said in a press release announcing the move to intervene.
The intervention comes amid a series of actions by President Donald Trump and his administration to push back against government-enforced programs promoting so-called "diversity, equity and inclusion," or DEI, "in all sectors," according to the DOJ release.
“The United States cannot and will not sit idly while a state denies its citizens equal protection under the guise of diversity,” Bondi said in the release. “Discrimination in all its forms is abhorrent and must be eliminated. The Department of Justice will continue to exercise its statutory right to intervene in cases whenever a state encourages DEI instead of merit.”
SB2930 would force nonprofit organizations in the state to publicly disclose the race, gender and other "demographic classifications" of their staff and board members.
Supporters of the measure, including Gov. JB Pritzker, have said the law is needed to support the state government's priorities and "encourage nonprofits to reflect the diversity of the communities they support."
In a release announcing the signing of the bill into law, Pritzker specifically indicated the law was part of his broader effort to "prioritize LGBTQ+ rights" in Illinois and to "expand on my administration's work to better serve the LGBTQ+ community of Illinois."
State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, D-Chicago, one of SB2930's leading proponents in the General Assembly, called the measure "a step forward for equity," and said he believed "the diverse range of communities nonprofits serve should be handled by a diverse range of people..."
Supporters said they believed leaning on nonprofits in such a manner is needed to "enhance" the missions of the nonprofit organizations.
The law took effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Under the law, nonprofit corporations which "reports grants of $1 million or more to other charitable organizations" would be required to post on its website "the aggregated demographic information of the corporation's directors and officers, including race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation and gender identity."
The information would be required to remain available for public review for at least three years.
A precise list of required "demographic classifications" would be determined by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, according to the text of the law.
In the legal action, the American Association for Equal Rights said the law amounts to an order from the state to discriminate or risk "public shaming" at the hands of state officials or others.
"And the only way to avoid that 'shaming' is by 'making discriminatory decisions' when hiring 'board members,'" the AAER said.
The AAER said the Constitution doesn't allow the state to order anyone to discriminate.
"And Illinois cannot end-run the Constitution's colorblind commands by 'encouraging' private actors to discriminate," the AAER said in its complaint.
The lawsuit asserts the compelled public disclosure ordered by SB2930 violates two constitutional freedoms: the First Amendment right "to speak freely and the right to refrain from speaking at all" and the constitutional right to "to be free from state-ordered racial discrimination."
According to the lawsuit, the law unconstitutionally forces nonprofits to ask their staff disclose "if they are gay or straight, black or white, transgender or not," using the state's preferred terminology and classifications, and then forces the organization to "publish those answers on their own website for years."
In moving to intervene in support of the AAER's lawsuit, the Justice Department agreed that the law amounts to an edict from the state of Illinois to nonprofits to violate constitutional and civil rights and discriminate.
"The intent was to encourage discrimination on the basis of race under the guise of making nonprofit boards more 'diverse' and to reward nonprofits that follow the State’s edict," the Justice Department wrote in its motion.
"SB 2930’s proponent, Illinois State Representative Edgar Gonzalez, Jr., even went as far as saying, 'When we can see the data that is shared because of SB 2930, elected officials and community organizations can be better partners to those nonprofit organizations that want to prioritize the recruitment of talented individuals from our state’s diverse communities.'
"SB 2930’s requirement is not only wrong but also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
"Fortunately, the United States is not required to sit idly while its citizens are denied equal protection by a state," the Justice Department said in the motion.
The Justice Department asserted it has a right to intervene in the case under federal civil rights law, because the Attorney General has identified the case as "one of general public importance."
A judge has not yet ruled on the motion and the lawsuit remains pending in Chicago federal court.