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Illinois leaders are pushing again on President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he would possibly ship in Nationwide Guard troops to the state to crack down on Chicago crime — akin to what he’s carried out to deal with crime in Washington.
Whereas Trump has floated that a number of different cities within the U.S. — together with Chicago and New York — might additionally obtain an inflow of Nationwide Guard troops to chop down on crime, Illinois leaders are sounding the alarm and making it clear these troops aren’t welcome within the Land of Lincoln.
“Forcing the army, uninvited, into Chicago to intimidate Individuals in their very own communities doesn’t make our nation stronger, it merely distracts the army from executing its core mission of preserving Individuals secure from actual adversaries who want us hurt,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-In poor health., mentioned in a Monday X submit.
WHITE HOUSE ACCUSES PRITZKER, ILLINOIS DEMS OF WHINING WHILE CHICAGO CRIME RAGES
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-In poor health., mentioned on X that “Forcing the army, uninvited, into Chicago to intimidate Individuals in their very own communities doesn’t make our nation stronger.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, additionally mentioned Monday that the transfer is “unconstitutional” and “un-American.”
“Donald Trump desires to make use of the army to occupy a U.S. metropolis, punish its dissidents and rating political factors,” Pritzker mentioned. “If this have been occurring in every other nation, we might don’t have any bother calling it what it’s — a harmful energy seize.”
In the meantime, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson mentioned that crime is down in Chicago. Particularly, he mentioned town up to now 12 months has diminished homicides by greater than 30%, robberies by 35% and shootings by nearly 40%.
TRUMP’S WEEK SHAPED BY CRIME AGENDA, POTENTIAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO CHICAGO

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson mentioned that crime is down in Chicago. (Charles Rex Arbogast/The Related Press)
“The issue with the President’s strategy is that it’s uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” Johnson mentioned in a Friday assertion. “Unlawfully deploying the Nationwide Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and regulation enforcement once we know that belief between police and residents is foundational to constructing safer communities.”
Nonetheless, the White Home revealed a reality sheet on Monday pointing to native experiences that Chicago has had probably the most murders of any U.S. metropolis for the previous 13 years, as of 2024.
On Aug. 11, Trump unveiled plans to deploy troops from the D.C. Nationwide Guard and to federalize the Metropolitan Police Division to deal with crime in Washington. Since then, Trump has floated that he would possibly deploy Nationwide Guard troops to different cities within the U.S., and has particularly zeroed in on Chicago and characterised town as “a killing area.”
“We go in, we are going to remedy Chicago inside one week, possibly much less,” Trump informed reporters Monday morning. “However inside one week we’ll don’t have any crime in Chicago, like no crime in D.C.”
On Tuesday, Trump made comparable feedback and mentioned he wished Pritzker would name him and ask him to ship within the Nationwide Guard troops.
CHICAGO MAYOR CALLS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD PLAN ‘MOST FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF OUR CONSTITUTION’

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to reporters in entrance of Trump Tower in Chicago as he denounces a possible plan by the Trump administration to deploy Nationwide Guard troops to town. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
“All people is aware of Chicago is a hellhole proper now,” Trump mentioned at a Tuesday Cupboard assembly. “All people is aware of.”
Nationwide Guard troops are reserve forces which can be tapped to deal with state and federal operations, together with pure disasters. Whereas most are usually overseen by state governments, the federal authorities oversees the District of Columbia Nationwide Guard. Nonetheless, Trump controversially deployed California Nationwide Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration riots there in June — bypassing California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom, a Democrat, in the end filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Trump administration for federalizing the Nationwide Guard to answer these riots, and labeled the transfer an “unmistakable step towards authoritarianism.”