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The Rev. Al Sharpton's last high-profile visit to tackle Chicago violence in 2013 may have ended with him admitting he was in over his head.

But if he's not an expert on our city as he acknowledged again on his return Thursday Sharpton says his more than three decades of sparring with President Donald Trump in New York gives him unique insight that can help activists fighting police brutality in Chicago.

"Donald Trump's from New York and I know Donald Trump better than folks in Chicago," Sharpton said Thursday morning as he stood alongside two-dozen Chicago pastors to call for a federal consent decree to oversee the Chicago Police Department.

Invoking the 1989 case of the "Central Park 5," in which Trump placed ads in all four New York papers calling for the death penalty for five men of color who were subsequently wrongfully convicted of raping a jogger, Sharpton said, "That is why I'm working with the ministers and in Chicago to understand what we've got to do under this New Yorker's administration."

"I've known him for 35 years," Sharpton said of Trump at the event at the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield Park. "If you can meet with the Russians, you can meet with the leaders in Chicago!"

Of Trump's repeated comments about "sending in the feds" to tackle Chicago crime and Attorney General Jeff Sessions' opposition to the use of a federal consent decree to rein in police misconduct, Sharpton said, "You can't have it both ways, you have to fight criminal behavior whether the criminal has on blue jeans or a blue uniform."

The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.

Sharpton also threw in a couple of barbs at Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who last month backed away from a commitment to seek a court-enforced agreement with the feds to reform the Police Department. Sharpton told his fellow preachers that "You can't close schools and then tell children that you care about them," and asking, "How do you act like Laquan McDonald didn't resonate nationally, when you hid the tapes until after the election?"

The mayor's office didn't respond to the criticism.

Sharpton added that he was in good company if his 2013 visit to Chicago wasn't a total success. Though he had planned to spend three months living on and off on the West Side, and to bring East Coast celebrities including Sean Combs and Spike Lee to Town Hall meetings, he quickly abandoned the idea after touring the city.

Kori Rumore

Chicago and its violence have been a frequent subject of President Donald Trump's attention. It was a common campaign thread Trump used to hammer Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama and others. Since becoming president Trump has returned the theme. Here are Trump's mentions of Chicago with...

Chicago and its violence have been a frequent subject of President Donald Trump's attention. It was a common campaign thread Trump used to hammer Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama and others. Since becoming president Trump has returned the theme. Here are Trump's mentions of Chicago with... (Kori Rumore)

"Dr. King wasn't from Chicago and he came, and Dr. King coming didn't solve all the problems," Sharpton said, referring to the violent reception Martin Luther King Jr. received at the hands of white protestors when he visited Chicago to campaign for fair housing in 1966.

Besides, he said, "they criticize you if you don't come, and I'm gonna keep coming. But I'm going to come to the people in Chicago that are on the ground doing the work."

kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews

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Sharpton in Chicago: I may not be an expert on city, but I know ... - Chicago Tribune