There are steps the federal government can take to provide critical support to Chicago, the most forceful of which is implementing a Federal Public Safety Consent Decree
President Donald Trump’s latest move to invoke section 740 of Washington, D.C.’s Home Rule to assert federal control over public safety in the federal district — along with his warning to deploy the National Guard to cities like Chicago and Baltimore — is more political theater than sound policy. If President Trump is truly serious about helping cities curb violent crime, there are practical, proven steps available — none of which involve deploying the National Guard.
Trump has targeted D.C. because, as a federal enclave with limited protections against presidential overreach, it is easier to target. Legally, the Home Rule Act does allow a president to assume temporary control of D.C.'s Metropolitan Police for up to 30 days during declared emergencies. However, his legal footing is significantly weaker in other major cities, and any attempt to impose sustained federal intervention would face formidable judicial and political challenges.
Washington, D.C., is not a state. Congress retains ultimate legislative authority and could, in theory, strip local powers entirely. Even so, a president’s authority to direct local police in D.C. is rigidly constrained and strictly temporary. Trump’s promise to seek congressional approval for any extension would likely run into a Senate filibuster. Whether his use of emergency powers could withstand a court challenge remains uncertain.
Violent crime remains a crisis in too many large cities.
While critics claim that Trump’s intervention does not align with reality as murders and shootings have been declining in D.C. and across the country, the fact remains the District of Columbia and many other American cities remain very dangerous places. Chicago continues as the nation’s leader in the number of murders, shootings, school age youth shot, and mass shootings. If Chicago were a state, it would have been second only to California in mass shootings.
Though Mayor Brandon Johnson has seized on drops in crime to bang the drum for his progressive policies, the decline in violent crime was to be expected after the pandemic-era surge that saw the closing of schools for almost a year and a half.
Out of school age youth violence drove the COVID-era crime surge in cities. For example: Chicago saw a 50 percent increase in murders among out of school youth and historic increases in violent crime arrests among school-age youth. Over half those arrested for carjackings were out of school age youth, up a approximately 25 percent compared to pre-COVID numbers.
Other factors contributed to drops in crime in Chicago. Many so-called “anti-police” reforms enacted after the George Floyd protests have been partially rolled back, restoring some police effectiveness. Chicago’s leadership has changed as well, with Larry Snelling appointed Superintendent and Judge Eileen O’Neill Burke elected Cook County State’s Attorney. Both Snelling’s appointment and Burke’s election signaled a return to more proactive policing and a reduction in pre-trial release. Burke’s term, which began in December 2024, has contributed to mightily to Chicago’s reduction in violent crime, finally matching the national trend. Since Superintendent Snelling’s appointment to lead CPD and Burke’s election, arrests rates which had plummeted returned to pre-George Floyd levels as has the jail population.
It should be noted that while murders and shootings have declined substantially, the major crimes in cities like Chicago remain up overall since pre-COVID fueled by carjackings, burglaries and robberies. Meanwhile, with police strength 1,700 below pre-COVID levels, only half the “high priority 911 calls have police cars available to dispatch when the calls come in. That lack of responsiveness suggests that many crimes are being underreported. Prior to COVID it was 19 percent.
How can Trump best support local public safety efforts.
If Trump truly wants to help cities combat violent crime, there are three key steps he can take — none of which involve deploying the National Guard:
1.) Coordinated Federal Support
Federal agencies — such as the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals, and Department of Homeland Security — can play a supportive role for local law enforcement by bringing federal charges against those who commit aggravated assault, sexual abuse, interstate drug trafficking, and especially illegal gun possession by felons. Federal prosecution typically means stiffer sentences and no bail, providing a real deterrent.
2.) Restore Law Enforcement Grant Funding
Trump has slashed federal funding for law enforcement including ending the Department of Justice’s hundreds of local grants, costing local police and community programs nearly $500 million. There is little debate that these grants have helped communities reduce crime. Restoring and expanding funding would strengthen community policing, prosecution, victim services, crime prevention and juvenile justice.
3.) Systemwide Federal Public Safety Consent Decrees
For cities facing entrenched crime, Trump could proactively direct the Department of Justice to implement federal “Law Enforcement Consent Decrees” in select cities were violent crime remains a serious and chronic problem. These orders should focus on victim protection, upholding constitutional rights, and promoting honest, effective governance, rather than simply imposing additional layers of oversight on police.
A Case for a Cook County Consent Decree
Public safety is a human right constituting the government's primary responsibility to its citizens. In Cook County however, that right is being denied by the “Criminal Industrial Complex” of special interest groups that have transformed criminal justice reform into a lucrative enterprise. There are lawyers, advocates, researchers, consultants, and consent decree monitors that have a financial interest in these "reforms."
On any given day, more than 90 percent of violent offenders in Chicago remain at large — most never identified or charged, as reduced police strength means that just over half of “high priority” 911 calls go unanswered. Even before the SAFE-T Act eliminated cash bail, three-quarters of those awaiting trial for violent felonies were released pending trial, up from just 19 percent in 2019. The election of Eileen O’Neill Burke as State’s Attorney signals a willingness to begin addressing these issues.
Those released before trial routinely skip court appearances without facing consequences. Restraining orders against domestic abusers are seldom enforced, leaving victims unprotected. According to CWB Chicago, between 2020-2024 nearly 400 individuals arrested for murder or attempted murder were already out on bail for another felony at the time of their arrest. The actual number could be several times higher as “combined arrests” for such offenses rarely exceed 20 percent of the total.
Since Illinois abolished cash bail in September 2023, more than 67,000 released defendants have failed to appear in court, receiving postcards notifying them of new court dates rather than facing arrest. Meanwhile, residents and businesses feel less safe, and authorities have been slow to act — even as domestic homicides reportedly rose by 110 percent last year. Of 77,000 protective orders issued, a mere 17,000 were served by the Sheriff, leaving thousands at risk.
During her tenure, former Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx’s office too often acted as advocates for offenders rather than victims. Her “Conviction Integrity Unit” helped secure the release of violent criminals due to alleged police misconduct — not necessarily evidence of actual innocence. Under Foxx, the State’s Attorney’s Office also issued Certificates of Innocence that led to multi-million-dollar settlements for released offenders, even in cases where the underlying evidence of innocence was unconvincing.
The financial toll to Chicago is staggering: Since 2008, taxpayers have paid over $1.1 billion to settle police misconduct lawsuits — including a record $384.2 million from 2019 to 2023. Currently, 275 pending wrongful conviction lawsuits threaten billions in additional liability. Politically connected law firms routinely profit by quickly settling these cases for hefty fees — rarely challenging claims before moving on to the next payday.
Meanwhile, the “Chicago Police Consent Decree” is focused exclusively on police conduct not effectiveness. An analysis of Chicago’s Consent Decree by Charles Fain Lehman of the Manhattan Institute observed that it seems that it has not had an appreciable effect on police conduct or public perception of the department. Furthermore, there is at least some evidence that the Consent Decree may have exacerbated Chicago’s already-substantial crime problem.
The consent decree serves to further reinforce the narrative of a police department incapable of reform, strengthening the cases of those who would bring lawsuits against the city for alleged police misconduct and justifying the continuation of what has become a cash cow for the monitor and consultants. The consent decree has more consultants than the CTA has full-time police officers. The monitor’s firm alone has billed Chicago more than $19 million, and consultants collect tens of millions more, all with little external accountability or incentive to end this lucrative arrangement.
Cook County’s criminal justice system is a multibillion-dollar enterprise spanning city, county, and state institutions, yet only the Chicago Police Department is subject to oversight. A “Federal Public Safety Consent Decree” is needed to provide a justice system that safeguards lives, families, and neighborhoods. It should encompass all elements of the justice system: The police, State’s Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, courts, and Clerk of the Court — all under the watch of an independent federal monitor.
Without such intervention, Chicago will remain a haven for offenders and a cash cow that enriches special interests whose actions and advocacy are making the community less safe.
