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Sources say the briefing is planned for Thursday, despite Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker’s efforts to persuade the president not to send National Guard troops to Chicago.
Trump signed an executive order Monday tasking Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth with establishing “specialized units” in the National Guard that will be “trained and equipped to deal with public order issues.”
Last week Friday, during an Oval Office press conference, Trump spoke about his recent attempt to crack down on crime in Washington D.C. by deploying National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. He eventually signaled his willingness to deploy troops to Chicago next.
Trump continued to attack the city this week, casting doubt on claims by city leaders that Chicago’s crime rate is dropping, despite what statistics show.
“Everybody knows Chicago is a hell-hole right now. Everybody knows,” Trump said.
Statistically, Chicago crime is actually trending in the right direction, as overall violent crime is down significantly year over year. While 2024 did see 580 homicides in the city, that number was down from its most recent peak in 2021, when homicides hit 804.
Nonetheless, Trump says a call from Pritzker for federal help would lead to a quick drop in crime in Chicago.
“I would love to have the governor of Illinois call me and say, ‘Look, we have a problem in Chicago,'” Trump said. “We will stop that problem in Chicago in two months, maybe less.”
But the president most likely would be waiting on a call from Pritzker for a very long time.
“What we are doing in the state right now is making sure that the president and those folks in Washington who are thinking about sending troops on the ground in a major American city, is that they understand that no one wants them to come, that crime is down,” Pritzker said Tuesday.
The mayor echoed the governor’s comments.
“The City of Chicago is not calling for the occupation of our city,” Johnson said. “It’s illegal and unconstitutional.”
The president, however, doesn’t see it that way.
“I have the right to do anything I want to do,” Trump said. “I’m the President of the United States. If i think our country’s in danger — and it is in danger in these cities — I can do it.”
Both Johnson and Pritzker have called Trump’s threat of sending the National Guard to Chicago nothing more than political theater. But at least one Chicago alder believes it’s the city and state putting on the show.
Ald. Ray Lopez (15th Ward) countered Johnson and Pritzker by issuing a statement Tuesday on X saying, in part:
“All this energy & theater over @POTUS sending the National Guard to fight the violence in our streets amazes me. Chicago does have a problem.
“… Chicago absolutely needs the federal government’s intervention & support to address human trafficking, drug cartels, illegal gun trade fueling street gang battles, and yes, the dangerous actions of violent noncitizens.”
Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times reports Wednesday there are plans to use Naval Station Great Lakes near Waukegan as a base of operations for agents with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
According to that report, agents with those departments would be housed at Naval Station Great Lakes from Sept. 2-30.
Another press conference with elected leaders from Illinois is scheduled for later Wednesday morning at Federal Plaza.
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