For years now, Trump and his law and order friends have been saying that if we put them in charge they will clean up the inner cities and, because things are so out of control, use the federal government to intervene. They are big fans of pointing to Chicago as the leading exemplar for their philosophy and they love to blame Obama for the violence plaguing the city. As recently as January, Trump tweeted this about the city:
"If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible 'carnage' going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds."
Except, as with everything we’ve come to expect from him, it’s nothing but a lie. On Thursday, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Eddie Johnson, traveled to Washington to meet with Jeff Sessions and ask for increased federal financial help for the city. Sessions’ answer? Meh.
Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson went to Washington on Thursday seeking increased federal financial help at a time of runaway violence, but Attorney General Jeff Sessions was noncommittal, saying he didn't want to make promises he couldn't keep at a time of proposed cuts to the Justice Department budget, according to one participant.
Seriously? All that bravado and bluster about fixing the carnage in Obama’s hometown and when the police (whom Sessions has pledged unequivocal support for) ask for funds, it was met with “Well actually, I’m not sure I’m going to have any money in my budget to help you.” What a joke! And there’s more. Johnson also asked for more federal prosecutors to help get illegal handguns off the street.
"The superintendent said for a city that's leading headlines with challenges of gun violence, we have one of the lowest federal prosecution rates in the country and that shouldn't be," said Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, who also attended the meeting. "The meat and potatoes of what was discussed was bad guys with guns are wreaking havoc in American cities, and the federal government certainly needs to help local entities set an example in a culture of accountability for those repeat offenders."
Of course, Sessions couldn’t commit to this either, although he certainly committed to making sure police officers have all the training they need. Except Chicago’s cops need more than training—the department needs reform which is unlikely to happen under Sessions’ watch. The Trump administration has far more important priorities (like cutting before and after-school programs and breast cancer research) to worry about than what happens on the streets of Chicago. We knew that Trump and his administration would turn out to be nothing but liars and crooks and they continue to prove it on a daily basis.