CHICAGO (WGN) — Gov. JB Pritzker said his office has received no communication from the federal government, as a Chicago Sun-Times report details plans for the Trump administration to possibly move Department of Homeland Security agents, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement personnel, and National Guard troops to the Chicago area.
“Great reporting on the part of our journalists,” Pritzker said. “I want to be clear, we have received no calls from the White House, from the federal government, from anybody who might be in charge of some sort of troop movement.”
Other elected Illinois officials took to Federal Plaza in Chicago to echo Pritzker’s sentiments and condemn a possible deployment.
“Donald Trump wants to make sure he bullies us and shoves us into submission so we stop resisting him,” Congresswoman Delia Ramirez said. “We are not going to give him that pleasure.”
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Details in the Sun-Times report stem from emails sent by a U.S. Navy captain to his leadership team. The captain said agents from the DHS, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection would be housed at Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago from Sept. 2-30.
He also wrote to superiors, “There is the potential to also support National Guard units. Not many details on this right now. Mainly a lot of concerns and questions.”
A spokesperson for Naval Station Great Lakes told NewsNation affiliate WGN the base “has been approached by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding a potential request to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. At this time, no decisions have been made. The request involves limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs to support DHS operations. Additionally, we have not received any official request to support the National Guard.”
Opponents of National Guard mobilization point to statistics that show Chicago crime is trending in a positive direction, with crime declining significantly year-over-year after the city saw a drastic spike during the peak of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Supporters of bringing in the National Guard said a significant year-over-year decrease in crime is not enough, and it needs to drop even further.
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“Crime going down, people still getting killed,” Dr. Willie Wilson said during a news conference Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara expects there will be notice if the National Guard is mobilized.
“I think once they make up their mind and the president says it’s a go, at that point, the federal partners will start contacting CPD, the superintendent, and the city officials and let them know this is what’s going on. This is what we’re doing and this is what we’re tasked with, and you are either working with us or you’re not,” Catanzara said. “I guess we will see how that plays out.”
The FOP president told WGN the National Guard’s presence is needed, even if they do not have arresting powers like everyday officers with the Chicago Police Department.
“It would be nice to have some extra bodies,” Catanzara said. “We are well over 1,000 people short in this department, and some extra bodies — especially for that crazy week of Mexican Independence Day — [are] greatly appreciated.”
Sources told WGN that Mayor Brandon Johnson was expected to brief the Chicago City Council on Thursday on plans in the event the National Guard is deployed.
