Chicago's Top Cop Calls Trump's Bluff on How He Could Solve Violent Crime in a Week

Alexandra Rosenmann
,
 AlterNet
and
 Alexandra Rosenmann
February 01, 2017

Fifty people were killed so far this year in Chicago, and the shooting tally of 300 is already up 50 from last year, when a state of emergency was declared in the city. 

"People are living under terror. That is unfair, that is not the American way. This is not what we would expect from our government. How can we defeat ISIS abroad if we can't even defeat the gang members in our neighborhoods?" Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin said, after submitting a letter to Gov. Bruce Rauner so that federal funds and resources could be allocated.

Ohio pastor Darrell Scott approached President Donald Trump about solving the violent crime problem in Chicago during a meeting with African-American ministers Wednesday morning at the White House.

"They reached out to me because they associated me with you," Scott told Trump, speaking of gang leaders in the area. "They're gonna commit that if they lower that body count, we're coming in and will do some social programs."

Trump loved the idea, having tweeted just last week he would "send in the feds" if Chicago "doesn't fix the horrible 'carnage' going on."

"We're going to have to do something about Chicago. Because what's happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country," Trump said at the meeting. 

But despite Trump's tough talk, the president has yet to call Gov. Rauner to discuss violent crime. And Rauner is not the only Chicago official who's skeptical of Trump's ability to properly tackle the crisis. 

"I like the fact that he recognizes Chicago has some challenges," Chicago Superintendent Eddie Johnson said of Trump. "The next step is, what do you do to help us resolve some of these issues?"

It is not clear if any federal assistance may be forthcoming from the president who said in his campaign that the problem could be solved "in a week." 

"Murders and shootings remain at levels unacceptable to me, and you have my word that we will continue to put our plan into place and make the necessary investments in technology and training of our officers to make Chicago a safer city," Johnson said in a press conference. 

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