In a lengthy post on X Saturday night, Illinois’ governor called the threat of National Guard troops in Chicago “a trial run for a police state” and accused President Donald Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis.” Chicago would be the third city in two months to see its law enforcement ranks bolstered by a federal presence, following similar moves in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
‘Trial run for a police state’
On Saturday night, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker shared a series of posts on X, condemning Trump’s reported plans to deploy the National Guard in Chicago.
“The State of Illinois at this time has received no requests or outreach from the federal government asking if we need assistance, and we have made no requests for federal intervention,” Pritzker wrote. “There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalizing the @IL_Natl_Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders.”
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The Democratic governor then spoke more forcefully, accusing Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis” and “abusing his power to distract from the pain he’s causing families.” He also said that the deployment of the Guard in Chicago “isn’t about safety –– it’s a test of the limits of [Trump’s] power and a trial run for a police state.”
Similarly, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said local leadership has “grave concerns” about the deployment of National Guard troops in the city, adding, “The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound.”
The 3rd National Guard deployment in 2 months?
Pritzker’s thread on X came around the same time that the Washington Post reported the Pentagon is planning a military deployment in Chicago. Such deployments have become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s contentious relationship with Democrat-controlled cities.
The president has described such cities in apocalyptic terms, claiming there is a crime emergency that warrants a federal response. However, the FBI’s most recent statistics suggest that nationwide, violent crime is reaching historic lows.
Crime in D.C. has mirrored that trend and has reportedly continued to fall since federal forces joined the local agencies. “DC was a hellhole,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “But now it’s safe.”
The president also claimed in a Sunday post on X that “After only one week, there is NO CRIME AND NO MURDER IN DC!”
In Chicago, meanwhile, murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, theft and motor vehicle theft all fell from 2023 to 2024, according to a Chicago Police Department report.
“The Framers created a system where governors may mobilize the National Guard in their states in the event of a crisis,” William C. Banks, professor of law emeritus at Syracuse University, told Straight Arrow News. “The President lacks the authority to federalize an incident and deploy troops over a governor’s objections except in very limited circumstances.”
A show of force
Earlier this month, Trump federalized D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department by sending in personnel from various agencies. National Guard troops are not permitted to make arrests. However, on Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that, according to a new directive, they will be armed.
While Hegseth called the move “common sense,” others see it as an unnecessary show of force.
“Arming the soldiers only aggravates a bad situation,” Banks said. “They aren’t permitted to enforce the laws or make arrests. It’s difficult to imagine how arming them does anything but add to the militarized environment.”
Mayor Johnson echoed the sentiment, saying, “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.”
Banks also noted that, generally speaking, Americans are wary of militarized local law enforcement agencies. “Americans have always recoiled at military involvement in domestic law enforcement, in part due to our history of soldiers’ abuses of colonists before the American Revolution.”
According to a recent poll, nearly 80% of D.C.’s residents said they oppose both the deployment of the National Guard and the federal takeover of D.C.’s police department.
