Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the Trump administration on Saturday told him to call up the Illinois National Guard or it would federalize it for a possible deployment in Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the Trump administration has threatened to bypass him and call up the state's National Guard for a possible deployment in Chicago.
Pritzker declined President Donald Trump's request for him to call up 300 Illinois National Guard troops and on Saturday said he received an ultimatum to do so.
"This morning, the Trump administration's Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will," Pritzker said, Politico reported. "It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will."
He said Illinois does not need military troops deployed anywhere in the state.
