Former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told Newsmax he has reservations about President Donald Trump sending the National Guard to fight crime in Chicago.
McCarthy told "National Report" on Tuesday that to begin with, there would be little, if any, cooperation between Illinois Democrat Governor JB Pritzker and Trump.
"Let's just strip it all away and talk about the politics of this," McCarthy said. "If Trump cured cancer, Pritzker would have a problem with it and vice versa. OK, so let's just get that out of the way."
He said Chicago is getting a handle on crime issues, so he questions if there is really a need for guard troops in the Windy City.
"One of the things that Chicago is presenting as a defense for not bringing in the National Guard is the fact that they have the lowest murder rate since 2014, which is when I was the superintendent of police," he said.
McCarthy said local crime is a local issue, and that's where the focus should be.
"I personally would not want somebody else to come to my town to do my job," he said. "If I couldn't do it, get rid of me."
But McCarthy said there's a difference when there is full cooperation between a local community and the feds on dealing with law and order.
"If I were the superintendent today, I would find a way to reach out and say, 'OK, fine, I'll take resources, but let's work out what you're going to do versus what we're going to do, and let's do it together,' " he said.
There are ways, he said, that a cooperative effort might be beneficial.
"I think the deployment of the National Guard in a city like Chicago could help with the smash-and-grab on Michigan Avenue and places like that," he said.
But still, McCarthy said, there's a lot to work out in terms of enforcement powers and what guard troops would be allowed to do and what they could not. And that, he said, takes cooperation, which does not appear to be a viable option today in a city like Chicago.
Following Trump's public comments about the potential of sending National Guard troops into Chicago to help fight crime, Pritzker launched a verbal attack at Trump, telling him to keep out of Chicago, and calling him a "wannabe dictator" and an "arrogant little man."
The Trump administration points to the deployment of the guard in Washington, D.C., including an immediate and significant drop in crime rates.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.