Some Chicago leaders want to meet with Trump to talk about violence, DOJ report

It was a blistering report announced by the Department of Justice on Friday. The Chicago Police Department has misused excessive force and hasn’t held officers accountable or trained them properly. The DOJ began looking into the department after dashcam videos were released in 2015 of a police officer-involved shooting that killed Laquan McDonald.

Some of Chicago's most prominent leaders want President-Elect Donald Trump to support the Department of Justice report and to have  a face-to-face conversation with him about the violence in Chicago.

“What about the high crime rate?” asked Bishop Larry Trotter of the Sweet Holy Spirit Church. “We as leaders need to meet with the President-Elect Trump.”

Bishop Trotter and other religious leaders met Saturday. Many of them believe the DOJ report is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t tell the whole story.

“We need to talk about race relationships and police relationships,” said Bishop James Dukes of the Liberation Christian Church. “We still live in a society when black men see blue lights behind them and they get scared.”

He is the pastor of a south side church said he wants to discuss jobs, mass incarceration and the root problem behind the violence with the President-elect.

Next the city will begin negotiations with the Justice Department on a consent decree, in which a federal monitor would be appointed to oversee change in the police department.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson welcomes the changes and said they've already started implementing reforms by hiring more officers, adding body cameras department-wide and increasing training.

“Since I became superintendent you've seen that we are doing things differently,” said Superintendent Johnson on Good Day Chicago Saturday. “We are getting videos out a lot quicker, we are taking decisive action when we see problem areas and so we are going to build on that, but believe me we recognize that CPD has to get better.”

Janet Cooksey lost her son, Quintonio LeGrier, when he was killed by Chicago police in December of 2015. Police say they were responding to a domestic call at a west side home when they were confronted by a "combative person" and fired shots.

Cooksey says the 164-page Department of Justice report is vindication.

“It saddened me, but one thing is happening is that the truth is finally starting to come out,” said Janet Cooksey. “Nothing has changed from last year the year before when my son died, but now something has to change.”