Mayor Brandon Johnson is reserving judgment on Lil Durk, calling him “someone who has worked to transform his life.”
After the rapper was charged in a murder-for-hire plot, the mayor avoided a direct answer when asked whether he would return a $150,000 campaign donation connected to Durk.
“I don’t know all the circumstances and details around these accusations,” the mayor said. He then discussed the work done by Neighborhood Heroes, a nonprofit foundation started by Durk.
Durk has worked to “build financial literacy for children across the city, and making other critical investments for the children of this city is where his heart has been,” Johnson said at an unrelated news conference at Collins High School on Friday.
After “the trauma that he grew up in,” Johnson added, Durk “has worked to turn that trauma into opportunities for other people.”
The mayor’s campaign fund, Friends of Brandon Johnson, reported a $150,000 contribution from The Voice Touring LLC on June 23, 2023. The Voice Touring is a New Hyde Park, N.Y., based company that lists Durk as its manager under his legal name, Durk Banks, in documents on file with the secretary of state of Nevada, where the LLC is registered.
Johnson was asked if he feels he should return the money.
“I don’t operate in feelings. I operate in truth and justice,” Johnson said.
“Here’s another example of a young Black man who grew up in severe trauma that led to life choices,” the mayor said, and Durk “has been very open and vocal about healing from those choices. That’s why he has been committed to finding his righteous path, seeking out truth and justice through his faith.”
Johnson added that Durk “has not been convicted of anything. … It is not my position to determine the outcome of someone’s life.”
Also Thursday, the village of Broadview, where Lil Durk has performed, revoked a “Key to Village” it gave the rapper and ended its partnership with his foundation, according to a statement from Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson.
“While the American system of justice grants everyone the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law, in the Village of Broadview, the court of public opinion of residents has even higher moral and ethical standards of behavior,” Thompson’s statement read.