Illinois Gov. Pritzker to address Trump’s potential National Guard deployment in Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is set to speak Monday in response to reports the Trump administration is considering sending the National Guard to Chicago.

Pritzker is expected to speak at 3 p.m. CT from downtown Chicago, and his remarks will be carried live in the player above.

“The safety of the people of Illinois is always my top priority. There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders,” Pritzker said in a statement on Saturday.

On Friday, President Donald Trump said Chicago would be a likely next target of his administration’s efforts to crack down on crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration.

In Washington, D.C., approximately 2,000 troops were deployed on the street. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, in the first week the White House had control of the city’s police force, property crimes dropped 19% compared to the week before, and violent crime dropped by 17%.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Pentagon has spent weeks preparing for an operation in Chicago that would include National Guard troops and potentially active-duty forces.

“I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Trump’s approach “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” arguing it “has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement.”

“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families,” Pritzker added. “We will continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect the people of Illinois.”

Earlier, on Friday, Pritzker said, “We don’t play those games in Illinois. Our commitment to law and order is delivering real results. Crime rates are improving. Homicides are down by more than 30% in Chicago in the last year alone.”

However, according to Security.org, Chicago has a crime rate 1.89 times the national average. In 2024, the national total crime rate was 2,119 incidents per 100,000 residents. In Chicago, that number was 4,012 per 100,000 residents.

“After using Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. as his testing ground for authoritarian overreach, Trump is now openly flirting with the idea of taking over other states and cities. Trump’s goal is to incite fear in our communities and destabilize existing public safety efforts — all to create a justification to further abuse his power. He is playing a game and creating a spectacle for the press to play along with,” Pritzker added.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, called Trump’s Washington, D.C. strategy “political theater.” He said Chicago is “a beautiful, vibrant city with people from all walks of life” and suggested pursuing “proven bipartisan solutions” toward further crime reduction.

“These unprecedented threats from President Trump are nothing more than a power grab to distract from his disastrous policies,” Durbin said in a statement.