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Apparently, at The Root – and more specifically, the editor-in-chief Michael Harriot – we are not the only ones who can deliver a great clapback when the weather permits. The Chicago Tribune's editorial board proved Thursday that it was also in the clapback game, especially with respect to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
First, a little contextualization.
The United States Department of Justice (the Obama Department of Justice, in particular) conducted a one-year investigation into the Chicago Police Department, which ended in January. 2017 and concluded that the department was guilty, among others, of having made excessive use of force and Latinx.
When Jeff Sessions took over the Department of Justice, he made it clear that he was siding with the forces of order and that he was not considering the consent decrees as a necessity . In fact, in April 2017, he ordered his department to review all the consent decrees in effect – again, the mandates put in place by the DOJ's MJ – by reasoning that the reviews would ensure that the orders would not be not contrary to the purpose of the Trump administration. promote the safety and morale of agents in the fight against violent crime.
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When it became clear in June 2017 that the Justice Department was not going to sign a consent decree agreement with the Chicago Police Department, a group of plaintiffs composed of four citizens and Ten Community-Based Organizations – Black Lives Chicago Matter, Chicago Urban League, Blocks Together, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Justice for Families – Chicago Black Lives Matter, Network 49, Women's All Points Bulletin, the 411 Movement in favor of Pierre Loury, as well as the West Side Branch and the NAACP Illinois State Conference – filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago and 16 Chicago police officers to force the federal government to monitor the reform of the CPD.
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The sessions, of course, showed no interest in improving the Chicago Police Service.
So soon as Tuesday, when the sessions made it clear that he considered any kind of plan to improve the besieged police service as a hindrance to the work of these agents.
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"The Chicago-ACLU agreement in late 2015 drastically reduced proactive policing in the city and may have triggered the biggest wave of murders ever experienced by a major US city, with homicides increasing by more than 57% next year, "said Sessions. "Now the city's leaders are seeking another deal. It is imperative that the city does not repeat the mistakes of the past – Chicago security depends on it.
"As a result, at the end of this week, the Department of Justice will file a declaration of interest opposing the draft consent decree. It is essential that Chicago succeed, "he added.
Imagine that.
In an editorial on Thursday, the Chicago Tribune openly spoke of Jeff Sessions and his plan to bypass police reform in their city.
The tl version; dr of their answer? Thank you but, no thanks.
From the platform:
Dear Mr. Sessions,
Thank you for your interest in the Chicago Police Consent Decree, which is in its final stage of development. We are confident that your "Statement of Interest" will be duly considered by US District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr., who will hold public hearings on the draft agreement later this month.
We only have one question: where were you at the beginning of 2017 when the Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, pledged to abide by the US Department of Justice consent decree that you have when the White House changed hands?
Oh, now we remember: you did not want any part of it. As you do now, you thought that worrying about the civil rights of suspects hampers the fight against crime. Instead of doubling the hard work done in Chicago, you tried (unsuccessfully) to torpedo the Baltimore Consent Decree, which was then at this same stage of public hearing.
This line, however, sums up the best:
"Mr. Sittings: If you are so worried about the violence in Chicago, you will stop trying to sabotage efforts to restore that confidence."
The fact is that the police in this country are uncontrollable and abuse their power, largely unchecked. The highest law enforcement official in the country thinks that what he has proposed is OK sends a dangerous message to all of us.
None of us are safe.
We are not immune to criminals and the police either. And it looks like that's exactly what Jeff Sessions and his orange boss marshmallow want.
I would say we're going back in time, but that's not the case.
This is where we have always been. It's just that hoods come off and people in control do not hide their agendas anymore.
As the Tribune has so well said at the sessions:
Your Department of Justice should have been involved in this process from the beginning, but you have withdrawn. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had to intervene to complete the work you would not have done. You were not useful then. You are not useful now.
Chicago does not need or appreciate your driving evaluation. We can not imagine that Judge Dow, who oversaw this long and difficult process, is impressed.
Goodbye, Jeff.
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