When you’re mayor of Chicago and a supporter who donated $150,000 to your campaign is later indicted by federal prosecutors for financing a murder-for-hire scheme, there are only two reasonable options to take.

Either give the money back or donate to a local organization that does good work, such as keeping young people off the streets and giving them positive activities.

That’s the situation Mayor Brandon Johnson finds himself in. Chicago rapper Lil Durk, who donated money to Johnson’s 2023 campaign, was charged last week with hiring hitmen to travel to Los Angeles in 2022 and kill rap rival Quando Rondo. The gunmen fired at a car in which Rondo was sitting. They missed the rapper but killed passenger Saviay’a Robinson – known as Lul Pab – who was Rondo’s cousin.

But instead of returning Lil Durk’s donation or allowing a local group to use it, Johnson came up with a third option that doesn’t help anyone: He said he was keeping the moneyand defended his choice with a stream of double talk and sidestepping.

Asked if he should return the money, Johnson told reporters, “I don’t operate on feelings. I operate in truth and justice.”

He called Lil Durk “another example of a young black man growing up in severe trauma that led to life choices. That is why he undertook to find his right path, seeking truth and justice through his faith”.

That just won’t cut it, and frankly, it does a disservice to other young black men who grew up in similar difficult circumstances but were never caught up in a murder-for-hire scheme.

Johnson said Lil Durk “wasn’t convicted of anything. … It is not my position to determine the outcome of anyone’s life.”

Indeed, the rapper has yet to be tried, let alone convicted, of these serious charges related to a crime that resulted in the death of a person.

But the mayor giving the money back—or rather, redirecting it in a way that helps the community—doesn’t erase Lil Durk’s presumption of innocence before trial. And to suggest that it had anything to do with the outcome of Lil Durk’s life is utter wishful thinking.

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson understood this when she withdrew Lil Dirk’s key to the village and cut ties with his foundation following the allegations.

“While the American justice system 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 the residents has an even higher moral and ethical standard of conduct,” Thompson said.

If Johnson really cares about stopping the violence in this city and helping young people, he should put Lil Durk’s money where his mouth is – and give the money to a group doing this important work.

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