Chicago Declines to Apply for DOJ Violence Intervention Grants

The office of the mayor cited its unwillingness to comply with the Trump administration’s policies.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson attends a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2025. Kent Nishimura/Reuters

Chicago’s leadership declined to apply for federal grants specifically for community violence intervention this week, citing its ongoing opposition to the Trump administration’s policies.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently made changes to the grants provided in its Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative to exclude community organizations from direct funding and prohibit services for illegal immigrants.

Awards can be as high as $2 million and support efforts to “reduce violent crime and improve public trust through a range of cross-sector enforcement, prevention, and intervention strategies that leverage active collaboration with communities through sustained partnerships and engagement.”

However, the distribution has become more restricted.

“Now, the funds must pass through a government agency,” said Jordan Costa, associate director for the Giffords Center for Violence Intervention. “Community-based organizations can only be subrecipients, and they would presumably have to comply with the same mandates.”

The funding will also be used to increase the capacity of the criminal justice system, going toward hiring more law enforcement officers and purchasing more equipment.

The initiative will prioritize funding toward certain efforts, such as supporting victims of human trafficking and coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration law enforcement.

In a statement released last week, a DOJ spokesperson said the change “reflects our belief that the best way to prevent violence in our communities is through robust support for law enforcement.”

However, Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson disagreed with the change and what the administration deems to be effective violence prevention.

“The city of Chicago does not intend to apply for any federal grants that require the city to comply with President Trump’s political aims,” Johnson’s press office said in a statement first shared with Reuters.

The Epoch Times reached out to the mayor’s office for further comment.

This marks the latest move by the city’s current leadership to protest the Trump administration’s actions as it deployed hundreds of federal agents in the immigration operation “Midway Blitz.”

Chicago was the first city to publicly declare its refusal to apply for the federal funding. Meanwhile, others, such as Columbia, South Carolina, and Newark, New Jersey, decided to move ahead with their applications.

Melron Kelly, deputy chief of police in Columbia, said earlier this month his department submitted its funding application but was asking questions about what cooperation with immigration enforcement would look like.

“There are always some parameters when you ask for federal dollars—but not specific to how you’re going to enforce the law or what laws to enforce,” said Kelly.

Reuters contributed to this report.