Pritzker condemns Trump's plan to deploy National Guard in Chicago

In Illinois, the state's Governor JB Pritzker publicly criticized President Donald Trump's reported plans to deploy the National Guard to Chicago in response to crime. Pritzker emphasized that there is no current emergency warranting such federal intervention and asserted that the state has not requested assistance from the federal government. This statement was made in light of various reports indicating that plans for deploying a significant number of National Guard troops to Chicago were already underway, with the Pentagon preparing to mobilize soon. Pritzker accused Trump of attempting to manufacture a crisis and abuse his power, a sentiment echoed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who expressed concerns about the impact of such a military presence on community-police relations. Moreover, local leadership noted that crime rates in the city have been declining, undermining the justification for a federal crackdown. Mayor Johnson cited the potential for increased tensions between residents and law enforcement as detrimental to public safety efforts. As Trump continues to characterize Chicago as a crime-ridden disaster, Pritzker, Johnson, and other state officials plan to hold a media conference to further address their opposition to the proposed deployment, insisting that it threatens the sovereignty of Illinois and undermines the progress in community safety that has been made recently. They assert that the deployment is politically motivated and serves only to distract from the issues facing working families across the nation.