U.S. Justice Department Withholding Grant Money, Hurting Police Departments
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A suburban police chief said police departments everywhere are missing out on grant money that the U.S. Justice Department is withholding over undocumented immigrants.
Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said "it's extremely sad," and said it is about Chicago being a sanctuary city and the state's passage of the Trust Act, which prevents police from detaining a person based solely on their immigration status.
"Why are you going to hold grant funding from us or why are you going to slow the process down?" Weitzel asked. "And what the real truth behind this is is that the Trump Administration and Sessions are fighting with the city of Chicago, because the money funnels to the city and then it is disbursed out to different communities in Cook County, so why do we suffer?"
Weitzel says his department has used the grants, ranging from $9,000 to $80,000, for bullet-proof vests, bike patrols and opioid overdose kits.
He wrote a letter to the Attorney General demanding that the grant money flow again.