CHICAGO – Local and state leaders are quickly responding on Sep. 2 to President Donald Trump’s declaration that he will send the National Guard to Chicago after the city had a violent Labor Day weekend, warning residents that there will be immigration raids and troop stagings similar to those in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
"None of this is about fighting crime or making Chicago safer, for Trump it’s about testing his power," said Gov. JB Pritzker at a news conference called almost immediately after the president made the declaration in the Oval Office. "I can't pretend Trump isn't tearing this country apart for his own greed."
The president announced he would send the National Guard to the city after at least eight people were killed and 50 people were injured in shootings across the city over the weekend, according Chicago Police Department data. Trump referenced the deadly holiday weekend, calling Chicago "the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far," in a post on Truth Social.
Local leaders have acknowledged the city has a crime problem but have also insisted that crime is down significantly, according to Chicago Police Department data. There is no emergency in the city, Pritzker and other leaders declared.
