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Federal options on Chicago crime limited despite Trump tweet

CHICAGO (AP) - President Donald Trump is again warning Chicago about its high number of homicides, saying on Twitter that he is ready to "send in the Feds" if the nation's third largest city can't reduce the number of killings on its own.

Trump has offered no specifics on what kind of federal intervention he envisions, but many steps he could potentially contemplate pose practical and even constitutional obstacles.

The president tweeted Tuesday night: "If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible 'carnage' going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!"

Trump had tweeted before he took office that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel should ask for federal help if he couldn't bring down the homicide rate. Last year, the death toll soared to 762 - the most killings in the city in nearly two decades and more than New York and Los Angeles combined.

Emanuel said Wednesday he welcomes federal help in curbing violence, though he cautioned against a strictly "tough and rough" approach. He told a local TV station Tuesday that additional federal intervention could include funds to help hire more police officers.

Here's a look at some of the issues:

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NATIONAL GUARD

The most direct - and most extreme - intervention would be sending National Guard troops into Chicago. Both the U.S. president and the Illinois governor have the authority to mobilize the Illinois National Guard. But a federal statute, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, prohibits the deployment of federal troops to do the jobs of domestic police. While a president could seek to use narrow, rarely invoked used exceptions in that statute, civil libertarians would likely protest any such move.

When asked in August about the notion of deploying the National Guard in Chicago, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner ruled it out. He said he had discussed the idea with police, community leaders and the National Guard, but concluded "no thoughtful leader thinks that's a good idea or would really provide a solution."

Sending armed troops to stand on neighborhood street corners could also undermine what city of Chicago officials have said is a key to improving policing on Chicago's South and West Sides, where most homicides occur: Building trust between law enforcement and residents in those minority communities. Emanuel said Wednesday sending in guardsmen would be "antithetical" to trust-building.

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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

The federal government's highest profile intervention in recent years was a yearlong civil-rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department by the Justice Department launched in 2015 under then-President Barack Obama. A damning report released just before Trump's inauguration cited excessive use of force and other problems that not only violated constitutional rights but hampered crime-fighting. Such findings are supposed to trigger a process that, under Obama, typically led to police-reform plans overseen by a U.S. judge. Some activists worry that Trump - endorsed by Chicago's police union during the campaign - won't apply as much pressure on Chicago police to change.

The current U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon in Chicago came under pressure when selected to be the top federal law enforcement official in Chicago three years ago to put violent crime at the top of the city's agenda. But from the start of his tenure, he tempered expectations, saying repeatedly that communities couldn't arrest their way out of the problem of violence and that a more holistic approach is required that included addressing that socio-economic factors underpinning crime.

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THE MAYOR

Among the list of things Mayor Emanuel told WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" the federal government could do was to devote even more resources to tracking the flow of illegal guns into Chicago from neighboring Indiana, where gun laws aren't as strict as in Illinois; as well as putting more money into federal after-school programs and "investing in neighborhoods that are hard hit by poverty (that) become a breeding ground for violence."

"Over the years the federal government (has) stepped back their resources, which we have stepped up," said Emanuel, a Democrat who once worked as Obama's White House chief of staff. After broaching the issue of social programs, he added: "The federal government can be a partner, and to be honest they haven't been for decades."

He said the city has "good relationships" with federal agencies, something Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson echoed in responding directly to Trump's Tuesday night tweet. Johnson said his department is "more than willing to work with the federal government to build on our partnerships" with the Justice Department, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and others.

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GANGS

Federal prosecutors in Chicago have used racketeering and gun laws to go after gangs, who police blame for much of Chicago's deadly violence. One of the largest street-gang cases in recent Chicago history wrapped up this month, with jurors convicting the core leadership of the notorious Hobos street gang on trial for an alleged racketeering conspiracy that prosecutors say included at least nine killings. But many gang experts point to an unintended consequence of prosecuting gang leaders: Breaking up a gang's command structure can often lead to more inter-gang rivalry and, therefore, to even more violence.

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Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2017, file photo, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel answers questions during a news conference in Chicago after the the U.S. Justice Department issued a report on civil rights abuses by the Chicago Police Department. In a tweet Tuesday night, Jan. 24, 2017, President Donald Trump said he's ready to "send in the Feds" if Chicago can't reduce its homicide figures. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File) The Associated Press
FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during his meeting with automobile leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. In a tweet Tuesday night President Donald Trump served notice he's ready to "send in the Feds" if Chicago can't reduce its homicide figures. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) The Associated Press
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks during a press conference where sanctuary cities, which don't arrest or detain immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and Chicago violence, two issues raised by President Donald Trump, were discussed on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton) The Associated Press
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks during a press conference where sanctuary cities, which don't arrest or detain immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and Chicago violence, two issues raised by President Donald Trump, were discussed on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton) The Associated Press
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