CHICAGO (WLS) — President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is considering Chicago as the next focus for his initiative against crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration.
Trump suggested that Chicago might undergo a plan similar to Washington, D.C., where he has stationed 2,000 troops on the streets.
At the same time, the ABC7 I-Team is keeping an eye on the new threats facing Illinois from the U.S. Justice Department. Attorney General Pam Bondi has urged democratically governed states to remove policies preventing local police from collaborating with federal authorities on immigration issues.
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“I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.”
The remarks were made as the Pentagon began the process on Friday of arming troops in Washington, although there have been no explicit signs of threats justifying the need for firearms.
Trump has consistently portrayed some of the country’s largest cities, primarily led by Democrats, with Black mayors and predominantly minority populations, as hazardous and unclean.
He singled out Chicago on Friday, calling it a “mess” and saying residents there are “screaming for us to come.”
“We’ll straighten that one out probably next. That will be our next one after this,” Trump said.
Speaking from the Oval Office with a red hat that read, “Trump Was Right About Everything,” the president asserted that people in Chicago are donning hats identical to his.
He added, “African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please.'”
ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer told the I-Team while an action like activating the National Guard likely would be challenged in court, the seldom used strategy of deploying National Guard troops is becoming more and more common.
“Until a year ago, you could count on one hand the number of times that the National Guard has been activated, federalized,” Soffer said. “We’ve already now seen it happen in Los Angeles. There’s a threat to make it happen in Chicago. It could happen beyond that.”
President Donald Trump said Chicago is likely the next target for efforts to crack down on crime after sending the National Guard to Washington, D.C.
Mayor Brandon Johnson responding in a statement to Trump, saying, “The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound.”
It comes amid a large-scale threat campaign from the Trump Administration, including lawsuits from the Justice Department challenging Sanctuary City policies across the country, including Illinois, and a visit to the Chicago area from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calling out local politicians.
“They’re being obstructionist when it comes to getting dangerous criminals off their streets,” Noem said.
And now, there have been letters sent from Attorney General Bondi to dozens of districts, including Illinois, calling on states to dismantle Sanctuary policies or face federal funding cuts.
“I’m not daring them to do anything,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said. “I’m just saying they don’t have a right to, federal law and state law separate endeavors, and they don’t have a right to do the things that they’re threatening to do. 42:03
As the I-Team reported last month, a landmark lawsuit from the Justice Department over Sanctuary policies in Illinois, Chicago and Cook County was dismissed by a federal judge. The Justice Department’s deadline to replead the case is Friday.
The I-Team confirmed with the Illinois National Guard they have received no orders from the president to mobilize in the city. As of 6 p.m. Friday, the Justice Department has not amended or repleaded its lawsuit against the state and Chicago over sanctuary policies. If they do not by midnight Friday, the judgement will be final, although they will have a chance to appeal to a higher court.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued the following statement:
“We take President Trump’s statements seriously, but to be clear the City has not received any formal communication from the Trump administration regarding additional federal law enforcement or military deployments to Chicago. Certainly, we have grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the City of Chicago. The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound. Unlawfully deploying the National Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement when we know that trust between police and residents is foundational to building safer communities. An unlawful deployment would be unsustainable and would threaten to undermine the historic progress we have. In the past year alone, we have reduced homicides by more than 30%, robberies by 35%, and shootings by almost 40%. We need to continue to invest in what is working.
“We know that our communities are safest when we fully invest in housing, community safety, and education. The National Guard will not alleviate the housing crisis. It will not put food in the stomachs of the 1 in 4 children that go to bed hungry every night in Chicago. The National Guard will not fully-fund our public schools or provide mental healthcare or substance abuse treatment to Chicagoans in need. The National Guard is no substitute for dedicated local law enforcement and community violence interrupters who know and serve our communities every day. There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued the following statement:
“As Donald Trump attempts to create chaos that distracts from his problems, we will call it out for what it is. Trump and Republicans are trying to distract from the pain they are causing working families-from tariffs raising the prices of everyday goods to stripping away healthcare and food from millions of Americans.
“After using Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. as his testing ground for authoritarian overreach, Trump is now openly flirting with the idea of taking over other states and cities. Trump’s goal is to incite fear in our communities and destabilize existing public safety efforts – all to create a justification to further abuse his power. He is playing a game and creating a spectacle for the press to play along with.
“We don’t play those games in Illinois. Our commitment to law and order is delivering real results. Crime rates are improving. Homicides are down by more than 30% in Chicago in the last year alone. Our progress in lowering crime has been made possible with community violence intervention programs that the Trump Administration is defunding.
“Our state and local law enforcement partners know our neighborhoods and our streets because they live here too. They are not asking for this and we will continue to listen and coordinate with them, as we always do. The safety of the people of Illinois is my highest priority, so we will follow the law and stand up for the sovereignty of our state.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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