The original report was drafted under the Obama administration, and Emanuel initially agreed to discuss a consent decree. But the new head of the Justice Department, Jeff Sessions, has since been vocal about his dislike of consent decrees to oversee police departments and was considered unlikely to enter into such an agreement with the city.

Craig Futterman, a law professor at the University of Chicago, said no matter how strong the memorandum of agreement, there is still the problem of enforcement.

“The only person who would have ability to enforce something would be Jefferson Sessions. So you are basically saying trust us,” Futterman said. “Trust Jefferson Sessions, someone who has a longstanding, demonstrated, hostility to civil rights of African-Americans and to any notion of federal oversight over Chicago Police Department.”

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