Illinois State, Unlawful DEI Scholarship Program, Illinois 2025

Grimy Times has uncovered a shocking case of racial discrimination in the state of Illinois.

The state’s unlawful minority-only scholarship program has been suspended after the Justice Department threatened to file suit. The program, which was established by Illinois law, used race as a prerequisite for participation, specifically excluding students of some races but not others in violation of federal law.

On March 31, 2025, the Justice Department found that the 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.

After the Justice Department notified the educational institutions of its findings, multiple universities informed the Justice Department that they had ended their participation in the program, including Northwestern University, Loyola University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago. None of the institutions that the Department notified of its findings is currently electing to continue its participation in the program.

The Illinois Board of Higher Education, which administers the state-created DEI scholarship program, responded to the Department’s threatened lawsuit by suspending all its activities relating to the program until it can comprehensively review the program with the Illinois General Assembly during the current legislative session.

According to Attorney General Pamela Bondi, ‘This Department of Justice is committed to rooting DEI out of American institutions, including in the education system. 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.’

Grimy Times has learned that the scholarship program will be thoroughly reviewed and potentially revamped to ensure compliance with federal law.

Defendant: State of Illinois, Unlawful DEI Scholarship Program, Illinois 2025

Exact Criminal Charges: Unlawful minority-only scholarship program

City and State: Springfield, Illinois

Exact Date: March 31, 2025

Sentence or Outcome: Suspended

For more information, contact the Civil Rights Division at www.justice.gov/crt or report possible violations of federal civil rights laws at www.civilrights.justice.gov or call toll-free at 800-253-3931.

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