Illinois leaders are pushing back on President Donald Trump's suggestion that he might send in National Guard troops to the state to crack down on Chicago crime - akin to what he's done to address crime in Washington.
While Trump has floated that multiple other cities in the U.S. - including Chicago and New York - could also receive an influx of National Guard troops to cut down on crime, Illinois leaders are sounding the alarm and making it clear those troops aren't welcome in the Land of Lincoln.
"Forcing the military, uninvited, into Chicago to intimidate Americans in their own communities does not make our nation stronger, it simply distracts the military from executing its core mission of keeping Americans safe from real adversaries who wish us harm," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said in a Monday X post.
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, also said Monday that the move is "unconstitutional" and "un-American."
"Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city, punish its dissidents and score political points," Pritzker said. "If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is - a dangerous power grab."
Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said that crime is down in Chicago. Specifically, he said the city in the past year has reduced homicides by more than 30%, robberies by 35% and shootings by almost 40%.
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"The problem with the President's approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound," Johnson said in a Friday statement. "Unlawfully deploying the National Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement when we know that trust between police and residents is foundational to building safer communities."
However, the White House published a fact sheet on Monday pointing to local reports that Chicago has had the most murders of any U.S. city for the past 13 years, as of 2024.
On Aug. 11, Trump unveiled plans to deploy troops from the D.C. National Guard and to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington. Since then, Trump has floated that he might deploy National Guard troops to other cities in the U.S., and has specifically zeroed in on Chicago and characterized the city as "a killing field."
"We go in, we will solve Chicago within one week, maybe less," Trump told reporters Monday morning. "But within one week we'll have no crime in Chicago, like no crime in D.C."
On Tuesday, Trump made similar comments and said he wished Pritzker would call him and ask him to send in the National Guard troops.
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"Everybody knows Chicago is a hellhole right now," Trump said at a Tuesday Cabinet meeting. "Everybody knows."
National Guard troops are reserve forces that are tapped to address state and federal operations, including natural disasters. While most are typically overseen by state governments, the federal government oversees the District of Columbia National Guard. However, Trump controversially deployed California National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration riots there in June - bypassing California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom, a Democrat, ultimately filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for federalizing the National Guard to respond to those riots, and labeled the move an "unmistakable step toward authoritarianism."
