Does the Justice Department View the Chicago Police Department as a Racketeering Enterprise?

Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Sneed hears rumblings that the Justice Department was eyeing the possibility of seeking a consent decree to take over the administration of the Chicago Police Department months ago.

• • The idea stemmed from disclosures of police torture, wrongful convictions and police misconduct that grabbed national and international headlines and were an embarrassment to the hardworking men in blue.

The Justice Department probably figures that when the former Chief of Detectives of the Chicago Police Department admits to running a nation wide jewelry theft ring: you might have more than a "few bad apples" around.