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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to the press as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson listens on September 2, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Pritzker Condemns Trump Plan to Send National Guard to Chicago as 'Outrageous and Un-American'
"They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance—not a serious effort the protect public safety," said the governor.
Oct 04, 2025
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday said the US Department of Defense had given him an ultimatum.
"Call up your troops, or we will," Pritzker, a Democrat, said the Trump administration had told him, signaling that President Donald Trump plans to move forward with federalizing Illinois' National Guard and deploying the forces to crack down on crime in Chicago—where, like other cities that Trump has sent federal troops to in recent months, crime is on the decline.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will," said Pritzker.
Federal law prohibits the deployment of military forces for domestic law enforcement, but the president has sent troops into cities including Los Angeles; Washington, DC; and Portland to crack down on protests against his mass deportation agenda, unhoused people, and what he claims, despite all evidence, is a nationwide crime wave.
Pritzker said the Department of Defense, which the administration has attempted to rebrand as the "Department of War," had threatened to federalize 300 National Guard troops in Chicago.
The announcement comes days after Trump said in a speech at Quantico, Virginia, where generals and admirals were called from US bases all over the world to attend an event with the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, that the government aims to "use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds” for the military.
“We’re going into Chicago very soon,” Trump said.
The president has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago and the surrounding area in recent weeks to carry out his mass deportation campaign. ICE operations in the city has so far resulted in a raid on an apartment complex in which US citizens were detained for hours outside in the cold; the fatal shooting of a man by an ICE agent; the firing of a chemical agent at a reporter near an ICE facility; and an agent slamming congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh at a protest, among other violent incidents.
Pritzker said the deployment of the National Guard is expected in "the coming hours."
"They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance—not a serious effort the protect public safety," said the governor. "For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control."
"I want to be clear: There is no need for military troops on the ground in the state of Illinois," said Pritzker. "In Illinois, we will do everything within our power to look out for our neighbors, uphold the Constitution, and defend the rule of law."
Also on Saturday, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that a top deputy to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller accidentally leaked plans to sent the Army's 82nd Airborne Division—an elite unit accustomed to fighting in hostile territory—into Portland as part of Trump's plan to "fight Antifa," which is not an organized group but rather an anti-fascist ideology.
Anthony Salisbury was observed using Signal in a public area to talk with an aide to Hegseth about the plans last weekend.
Portland and Oregon sued Trump this week to stop him from federalizing the state's National Guard.
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday said the US Department of Defense had given him an ultimatum.
"Call up your troops, or we will," Pritzker, a Democrat, said the Trump administration had told him, signaling that President Donald Trump plans to move forward with federalizing Illinois' National Guard and deploying the forces to crack down on crime in Chicago—where, like other cities that Trump has sent federal troops to in recent months, crime is on the decline.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will," said Pritzker.
Federal law prohibits the deployment of military forces for domestic law enforcement, but the president has sent troops into cities including Los Angeles; Washington, DC; and Portland to crack down on protests against his mass deportation agenda, unhoused people, and what he claims, despite all evidence, is a nationwide crime wave.
Pritzker said the Department of Defense, which the administration has attempted to rebrand as the "Department of War," had threatened to federalize 300 National Guard troops in Chicago.
The announcement comes days after Trump said in a speech at Quantico, Virginia, where generals and admirals were called from US bases all over the world to attend an event with the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, that the government aims to "use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds” for the military.
“We’re going into Chicago very soon,” Trump said.
The president has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago and the surrounding area in recent weeks to carry out his mass deportation campaign. ICE operations in the city has so far resulted in a raid on an apartment complex in which US citizens were detained for hours outside in the cold; the fatal shooting of a man by an ICE agent; the firing of a chemical agent at a reporter near an ICE facility; and an agent slamming congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh at a protest, among other violent incidents.
Pritzker said the deployment of the National Guard is expected in "the coming hours."
"They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance—not a serious effort the protect public safety," said the governor. "For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control."
"I want to be clear: There is no need for military troops on the ground in the state of Illinois," said Pritzker. "In Illinois, we will do everything within our power to look out for our neighbors, uphold the Constitution, and defend the rule of law."
Also on Saturday, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that a top deputy to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller accidentally leaked plans to sent the Army's 82nd Airborne Division—an elite unit accustomed to fighting in hostile territory—into Portland as part of Trump's plan to "fight Antifa," which is not an organized group but rather an anti-fascist ideology.
Anthony Salisbury was observed using Signal in a public area to talk with an aide to Hegseth about the plans last weekend.
Portland and Oregon sued Trump this week to stop him from federalizing the state's National Guard.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday said the US Department of Defense had given him an ultimatum.
"Call up your troops, or we will," Pritzker, a Democrat, said the Trump administration had told him, signaling that President Donald Trump plans to move forward with federalizing Illinois' National Guard and deploying the forces to crack down on crime in Chicago—where, like other cities that Trump has sent federal troops to in recent months, crime is on the decline.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will," said Pritzker.
Federal law prohibits the deployment of military forces for domestic law enforcement, but the president has sent troops into cities including Los Angeles; Washington, DC; and Portland to crack down on protests against his mass deportation agenda, unhoused people, and what he claims, despite all evidence, is a nationwide crime wave.
Pritzker said the Department of Defense, which the administration has attempted to rebrand as the "Department of War," had threatened to federalize 300 National Guard troops in Chicago.
The announcement comes days after Trump said in a speech at Quantico, Virginia, where generals and admirals were called from US bases all over the world to attend an event with the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, that the government aims to "use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds” for the military.
“We’re going into Chicago very soon,” Trump said.
The president has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago and the surrounding area in recent weeks to carry out his mass deportation campaign. ICE operations in the city has so far resulted in a raid on an apartment complex in which US citizens were detained for hours outside in the cold; the fatal shooting of a man by an ICE agent; the firing of a chemical agent at a reporter near an ICE facility; and an agent slamming congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh at a protest, among other violent incidents.
Pritzker said the deployment of the National Guard is expected in "the coming hours."
"They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance—not a serious effort the protect public safety," said the governor. "For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control."
"I want to be clear: There is no need for military troops on the ground in the state of Illinois," said Pritzker. "In Illinois, we will do everything within our power to look out for our neighbors, uphold the Constitution, and defend the rule of law."
Also on Saturday, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that a top deputy to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller accidentally leaked plans to sent the Army's 82nd Airborne Division—an elite unit accustomed to fighting in hostile territory—into Portland as part of Trump's plan to "fight Antifa," which is not an organized group but rather an anti-fascist ideology.
Anthony Salisbury was observed using Signal in a public area to talk with an aide to Hegseth about the plans last weekend.
Portland and Oregon sued Trump this week to stop him from federalizing the state's National Guard.
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