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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued a warning that President Donald Trump’s administration intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard. In a tweet on Saturday, October 4, Pritzker wrote, “The Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will.” He added, “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
Pritzker stated he would not comply with the suggestion. “I will not call up our National Guard to further Trump’s acts of aggression against our people,” he said. “Illinois, we will do everything within our power to look out for our neighbors, uphold the Constitution, and defend the rule of law.”
President Trump had been advocating since August that Chicago would be next after deploying 800 National Guard troops in Washington, DC on August 11, declaring a public safety emergency. During an Oval Office meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on August 22, Trump said, “Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. We’ll straighten that one out probably next.”
In Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office, Chicago has seen significant reductions in violent crime, despite high-profile mass shootings continuing to affect the city. Deploying the National Guard could potentially undermine the city’s progress.
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Pritzker’s tweet garnered attention on X (formerly known as Twitter). The incident highlights ongoing tensions between state governors and the federal government regarding the use of the National Guard.
