Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called federal prosecutors' efforts to crack down on gun crime “horrible” in Chicago when compared to other cities like New York or Los Angeles, reporrts the Chicago Sun-Times. The mayor said a tiny fraction of the guns police and federal agents have seized in a joint operation have resulted in federal prosecutions. “We took 400 guns off the street in our combined areas where we worked together. They prosecuted four of the 400 at the federal level. I am giving you the facts,” Emanuel said.
In remarks to the Sun-Times' editorial board, Emanuel said he's spoken to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Chicago's new U.S. attorney, Zachary Fardon, about the gun issue. Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which tracks federal prosecution data, found Chicago, Los Angeles and New York ranked last in federal gun law enforcement in 2012. The districts of Eastern New York, Central California and Northern Illinois ranked 88th, 89th and 90th, respectively, out of 90 districts, in prosecutions of federal weapons crimes per capita last year. Yesterday, Fardon took the oath to become U.S. attorney. Fardon, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, is best known for his work in the investigation and trial of Gov. George Ryan.