Lil Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, made a $150,000 campaign donation to Mayor Johnson shortly after Johnson took office last year.
Mayor Johnson declined to say what he'll do with the tens of thousands of campaign dollars he's received from the embattled artist, who was arrested Thursday night in south Florida.
Chicago rapper Lil Durk is now in federal custody after allegedly booking flights to Italy, Dubai and Switzerland in an attempt to flee the country.
Johnson faced scrutiny Friday during a media availability about his connection to Banks.
The 32-year-old artist, who won a Grammy this year for the song "All My Life," is accused of scheming to take a life in an alleged "murder-for-hire" conspiracy, targeting rival rapper Quando Rondo in a 2022 shooting in Los Angeles that missed Rondo, but killed his cousin.
Federal authorities say Banks was retaliating for the 2020 shooting death of his friend, Chicago rapper King Von, at the hands of Rondo's associate.
Banks allegedly "put a monetary bounty out" on Rondo and paid for members of his "Only The Family" hip hop group to travel to L.A. to carry out the shooting. Those five alleged hitmen were indicted last week and arrested Thursday in Chicago.
"They will almost certainly be looking to flip someone who's in on the conspiracy and use their testimony against other defendants," ABC7 legal analyst Gil Soffer said.
Mayor Johnson said he knows few details about the murder-for-hire chargers Lil Durk is now facing, but noted the rapper's philanthropic work in the city.
"Lil Durk's mission to build financial literacy for children across the city, and making other critical investments for the children of the city is where his heart has been," Johnson said.
The rapper runs a Chicago-based charity, called Neighborhood Heroes.
The charity recently earned him keys to the city for the villages of Broadview and Bellwood. Broadview's mayor is now withdrawing the honor and cutting ties with Banks' non-profit.
Banks also operates a music company. According to state records, in June of 2023, The Voice Touring LLC, which lists Banks as the manager, donated $150,000 to Mayor Johnson's campaign.
When asked if he should donate the money to charity, Johnson said, "I don't operate in feelings, you know, I operate in truth and justice. And I don't know all the circumstances around these accusations."
When pressed about Bank's donation, the mayor deferred once again.
"If you're asking me, if I should make a judgment on a Black man before a full trial has actually come to fruition, I hope you do understand why it is not my position to determine the outcome of someone's life," Johnson said.
Banks, through his charity work, has been connected to many well-known people in Chicago and elsewhere.
Soffer said no one should jump to any conclusions.
"We're a long way from being able to judge whether there's any criminal exposure to political officials. Odds are that this case is focusing on this violent crime that's been charged, and all the rest is noise," Soffer said.
When pressed on the optics of keeping the donation, Johnson cut off ABC7 Chicago's Craig Wall, and he moved on to another question.
Messages left by ABC7 for Lil Durk's attorney and booking agents have not been returned.