JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<div id="an-element">
    <ul class="image-list">
        <li>One</li>
        <li>Two</li>
    </ul>
</div

CSS

#an-element li {
    background: none!important;
}

.image-list li {
    display: inline-block;
    background-image: url("http://placekitten.com/150/50");
    padding:1em;
    border: 1px solid blue;
}

JavaScript

jQuery("#an-element").attr('id', '');
var backgroundImage = jQuery(".image-list li").css('background-image');
jQuery("#an-element").attr('id', 'an-element');
jQuery(".image-list li").attr('style', 'background-image: ' + backgroundImage + ' !important; ');