Attorney General Jeff Sessions Blasts ACLU, Rahm Emanuel Today In Waukegan Speech To Police Officers

CHICAGO (CBS)--Attorney General Jeff Sessions was in Waukegan Wednesday talking to police officers at the Valor Survive and Thrive Conference.

Sessions's Illinois visit fell on the same day remarks were published from an interview President Trump gave with The Hill. In that interview, Trump went as far as to say, "I don't have an attorney general."

Trump in that interview also ranked the nation's top lawyer's performance as poor.

Sessions made no mention of his contentious relationship with Trump when he spoke at the Genesee Theater, but he assured the audience they had the support of the Trump Administration.

CBS 2's Jim Williams reports Sessions spoke about the negative stigma surrounding police and echoed familiar criticism from the Trump Administration about Chicago.

He said city leaders and groups like the ACLU and the "Black Lives Matter" movement don't understand the reality of policing.

"Policing went down, crime went up," Sessions said. "As a result, hundreds of Chicagoans are now dead--almost all of them African American or Latino."

City of Chicago spokesman Adam Collins said, "I know Jeff Sessions is having a tough day with his boss, but it's no excuse for lashing out at others and making up alternative facts. Chicagao has seen significant reductions in violence."