A Chicago alderman says the city is taking a “giant leap in the wrong direction” after the Department of Justice announced it is investigating Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hiring practices.

During a May 18 service at the Apostolic Church of God, Johnson responded to people who claimed he only talked about hiring Black people.

“No, what I’m saying is, when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet,” he said. “I’m laying that out because when you ask, ‘How do we ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business,’ having people in my administration that will look out for the interests of everyone, and everyone means you have to look out for the interests of Black folks.”

Johnson mentioned top officials who serve in his administration and emphasized their race. One example included his deputy mayor of business and economic development, a Black woman.

“I am glad that they are looking into it. I think it validates the concerns that many Chicagoans have had that Brandon Johnson is a mayor, not for the entire city, but for only one demographic,” Lopez said. “There are tens of thousands of individuals who work for the city of Chicago who feel as though they have been left out of promotions, left out of advancement or even left out from being hired as a whole even on the front line. And I think that needs to be looked into by the Department of Justice.”

Lopez said he thinks the city is taking steps in the wrong direction in the way it hires.

Democratic Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez discusses the rise in crime in the Windy City on “America Reports.” (FOX News)

“This is just one sad step backwards for the City of Chicago to have the mayor articulate so passionately that he prefers to hire one ethnic demographic at the expense of all others. It doesn’t make sense to me how, in the 21st century, we’ve done so much to try to move beyond seeing each other just solely based on race, that we are now taking a giant leap in the wrong direction,” he said.

The alderman said there are Black Chicago residents he talks to who disagree with Johnson when it comes to hiring decisions.

“Let me be 100%, 110% clear on this note. There are African Americans who don’t like that statement either. There are many well-qualified leaders of departments who put blood, sweat and tears into lifting up Chicago, who now have been trivialized by his comments and are viewed through a lens of they’re just here because they’re Black,” Lopez added.

The Chicago skyline (Getty)

In comments made after the DOJ launched its investigation, Johnson said it came from a place of fear.

“You can tell when someone is fearful is because they act out,” Johnson said. “We have a president that is screaming and having tantrums right now because we have an administration that reflects the city of Chicago, but he would much rather have administrations that reflect the country club. Period.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for comment.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.