Despite threats of legal action from the Department of Justice, some universities in Illinois say they haven’t utilized a minority-exclusive scholarship program for years but have now formally withdrawn from participation.
In a statement Friday, the DOJ said educational institutions in Illinois suspended their participation in the program, Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois, or DFI, which used race to determine eligibility in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The DOJ warned Illinois officials on March 31 that the program unlawfully excluded students based on race, citing violations of the 14th Amendment, and cautioned that failure to dismantle it would bring legal action.