Illinois officials blast Trump's threat to deploy National Guard in Chicago

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NPR

August 24, 2025 1:58 PM ET


Chicago political leaders are slamming a suggestion made by President Trump late last week that he may soon send National Guard troops to the streets of the Midwest metropolis in order to combat crime.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, said in a statement on Friday that Trump's approach was "uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound" and that "unlawfully deploying" the National Guard to Chicago could "inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement."

Speaking on MSNBC on Sunday, Johnson added: "The city of Chicago does not need a military occupation... This is clearly a violation of the Constitution, and we're going to remain firm and vigilant in our commitment to ensure that our democracy is protected and our humanity is secured."

According to city data quoted by Mayor Johnson, Chicago has seen a drop in certain violent crimes in the past year, including a more than 30% reduction in homicides, a 35% drop in robberies and a nearly 40% decline in shootings.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/24/nx-s1-5514470/illinois-officials-blast-trumps-threat-to-deploy-national-guard-in-chicago

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Statement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on reports that Trump plans to deploy the military in his state

[msongs]

2. the military will do what it is told. it's job after all is death and destruction nt

[ancianita]

3. More from Pritzker

[Miguelito Loveless]

4. Unless Illinois

leaders intend to take counter measures to Trump's illegal actions, this is just performative. So far the party has caved IN LA and DC. I don't expect anything different in Chicago. The courts will NOT stop this. Governors can issue executive orders too.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. "So far the party has caved IN LA"

They haven't "caved" in LA. There are court orders in place there for ICE and an ongoing case for the National Guard -

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143510852
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143511539
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143512183

And Washington D.C., being primarily under the control of Congress per the Constitution (with some "Home Rule" provisions), is faced with the "absent" loon RW GOP Congress, which has so far ceded the nonsense that 45 has been doing there, although that option is only legally available for 30 days before Congress must give explicit approval to extend it.

[Miguelito Loveless]

7. LA allowed the troops in

DC allowed the troops in. Confederate states are now occupying the nation's capitol unopposed. The troops in DC are now being armed. Soon we will replay Kent State. Local leaders need to be on the front lines opposing these occupations. Sooner or later this is going to become violent, then what? They will shoot, then blame us for being "violent".

Why are Dems not openly protesting ON the streets of DC?

As long as governors/mayors keep allowing these deployments unchallenged this will spread across the country until Trump orders protesters fired upon. Unless our leaders are prepared to deploy state/local police, or order up the guard in advance of Trump, we will be slaughtered.

What Trump is doing is illegal, prima facia. Going to corrupt courts for relief is useless. All court challenges will eventually be struck down by the SCOTUS who are openly corrupt.

Our democracy has fallen without any meaningful opposition. A literal convicted felon runs the country because the SCOTUS refused to rule him guilty of insurrection. People are protesting the occupation, but our leaders are nowhere to be found on the front lines. We had one mayor and one representative stand up, and they were arrested, and I haven't heard a peep from leadership beyond talk.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. "DC allowed the troops in."

"L.A." isn't "D.C." Those were CALIFORNIA National Guard who are stationed in the state.

They were (illegally) "federalized" and deployed under a bogus "emergency", which is what the main court case is about filed by the Governor.

If your idea of "opposition" is something less than taking up arms, then say it. Stomping feet and pounding podiums is not "opposition".

I posted this as a reply in another subthread - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3518412

Unfortunately so much has transpired the past 6 months that people forget what HAS happened. Recall this in NJ (this past May) -

McIver pleaded "not guilty" to the bogus charges near the end of June -

ETA - Several other members (including Wasseran-Schultz and Frost) went to that "Alligator Alcatraz" internment camp -

The courts have now ordered that no more detainees be sent down and that it will have to be shutdown.

Our "leaders" (including the high level ones) have been going to detention facilities along with other (D) elected officials and have been confronting the proprietors, but not all of that "makes the news" because the RW-owned media knows that blanking that out will cause the exact reaction that is happening on DU and they are laughing their asses off.

[Miguelito Loveless]

9. I agree that the media is NOT covering this

But that also highlights how our leadership has utterly failed to make proper use of social media and circumvent the blackout. What is frustrating too me in the extreme is that many of us predicted this end game as inevitable as far back as 2000, and all we got for our correct predictions was belittlement and lectures on "keeping our powder dry".

As far as LA having the California guard, that should have made it all the easier for Newsom to have countermanded Trump's attempts to federalize them. He should have declared Trump's orders "unlawful" (which they were) and placed them on alert repel any federal forces illegally invading California or trying to interfere with lawful governance. That would have set the narrative. The guard them would have had a decision to make, disobey illegal orders and defend their homes, obey illegal orders and turn on their friends and family.

If Dem leaders were on the front lines opposing these illegal moves, there would be a hell of a lot more people out there opposing these illegal seizures of power. South Korea seemed to understand the stakes. Their leaders opposed martial law in person, not via press release or "sternly worded letter" , and the people backed them in force. Our leaders are too busy listening to million dollar consultants (paid for with our donations) who tell them that open opposition to Trump doesn't "message" well.

One or two congressman going to a concentration camp is nice and all, but where the hell are the rest of them? The entire caucus should be there. Where are the Dem reps facing down ICE to protect Garcia? Governors should be telling ZICE agents that attempts to illegally arrest people without a criminal warrant will result in the ICE agents being arrested. The longer we avoid confrontation, the bolder the opposition gets, and the more violent it will be when the inevitable happens. The shootings, when they happen, will target a small group of protesters, since they know this will yield the best result as they will control the narrative. Large protest, like the kind that would show up if Jeffries decided to protest in front of the White House would attracted tens of thousands, if not more. Lots of witnesses, lots of news coverage, lots of pressure on the spineless media and the spineless GOP.

At the very least could we stop mincing words and pretending we are NOT a dictatorship?

[BumRushDaShow]

10. To respond

also highlights how our leadership has utterly failed to make proper use of social media

You have probably half of DU who whines every time someone includes an "Xitter" or other social media link in a post. And you have others who have even made OPs complaining about YouTube videos and how they are going to trash the threads.

This is a generational problem and who one caters to. Harris/Walz were very active on social media and podcasts and whatnot, but until Democrats deal with the RACE ISSUE, as well as gender and orientation (it's not "economics" because the bigots are willing to go bankrupt as long as POC, et. al, get deported, imprisoned, and/or put in their place).

It obviously will never be "solved", but it needs to be acknowledged as a nasty overlay in the GOP strategy and our continuing to ignore this will be to our peril, throwing our base - which is literally a "plurality" of the American populace - under the bus.

As far as LA having the California guard, that should have made it all the easier for Newsom to have countermanded Trump's attempts to federalize them. He should have declared Trump's orders "unlawful" (which they were) and placed them on alert repel any federal forces illegally invading California or trying to interfere with lawful governance. That would have set the narrative. The guard them would have had a decision to make, disobey illegal orders and defend their homes, obey illegal orders and turn on their friends and family.

I don't think there is any "legal" authority to "countermand" that under specific circumstances (remember, this case is STILL in the courts to decide that). The famous "showdown" in Alabama with George Wallace (history that probably isn't being taught anymore and will most certainly be "scrubbed" ) showed the conflict between the state and federal use of the Guard.







A lot of people spout hypotheticals but hopefully the lines will be drawn through these court cases.

If Dem leaders were on the front lines opposing these illegal moves, there would be a hell of a lot more people out there opposing these illegal seizures of power. South Korea seemed to understand the stakes. Their leaders opposed martial law in person, not via press release or "sternly worded letter" , and the people backed them in force. Our leaders are too busy listening to million dollar consultants (paid for with our donations) who tell them that open opposition to Trump doesn't "message" well.

There are what has to be nearly 300 lawsuits that have been filed against the 45 administration - the vast majority of them BY DEMOCRATS (Governors, AGs, Mayors, members of Congress) and Democratic Party supporting organizations.

Why is that being dismissed? I try to post as many as I can but many of the threads get yawns. And thus the misinformation about what is going on continues.

As I mentioned to another DUer, South Korea does NOT have the same kind of system of government as the U.S. They don't have a bicameral Legislative Branch like the U.S. (with a "House"/"Lower chamber" and "Senate"/Upper Chamber" ), they have one big "National Assembly". So when they go through Impeachments, they have their whole Assembly do that and then send it to their highest court ( "Constitutional Court" ) that makes the final decision. Meanwhile in the U.S., the House does the Impeachment hearings and votes to impeach and then it goes to the Senate to "convict" or "acquit". The only involvement that our highest court - the SCOTUS - is that "traditionally" (but not required), the Chief Justice will preside over and direct, in a mostly ceremonial role, the "Impeachment Trial".

Roberts was there for 45's first impeachment but not the second one.

If we can't even argue cohesively about what "others do", then we will continue to engage in a useless circular firing squad.

One or two congressman going to a concentration camp is nice and all, but where the hell are the rest of them? The entire caucus should be there. Where are the Dem reps facing down ICE to protect Garcia? Governors should be telling ZICE agents that attempts to illegally arrest people without a criminal warrant will result in the ICE agents being arrested.

What? And what about the tens of thousands thousands of others in every state in the U.S.? You want our 250+ elected officials showing up, en masse, at each and every illegally mistreated immigrant's hearing?

Garcia was a constituent of Maryland since he lived there and Chris Van Hollen not only supported him but also managed to force El Salvador to let him see Garcia in that country. You also see the Maryland delegation (that also includes Jamie Raskin & Kweisi Mfume) raising hell.

The Florida delegation has shown up for the concentration camp mess going in their state - that now has a court order TO CLOSE (e.g., Wasserman-Schultz, Frost), and the California delegation (Schiff, Swallwell, Pelosi, Khanna, Lofgren, Aguilar, Chu, Padilla - remember when he was thrown to the ground and tackled for asking Ice Barbie a question? , etc).

The longer we avoid confrontation, the bolder the opposition gets, and the more violent it will be when the inevitable happens. The shootings, when they happen, will target a small group of protesters, since they know this will yield the best result as they will control the narrative. Large protest, like the kind that would show up if Jeffries decided to protest in front of the White House would attracted tens of thousands, if not more. Lots of witnesses, lots of news coverage, lots of pressure on the spineless media and the spineless GOP.

I posted just above in this subthread the "confrontation" in New Jersey at one of the "detention centers", where right now, a Congress woman is under indictment for her "confrontation" and is fighting it - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3518437

In each of their constituencies, there ARE Democrats who are physically getting confrontational but this is quickly forgotten.

At the very least could we stop mincing words and pretending we are NOT a dictatorship?

There are posts after posts after posts of Democrats who HAVE called it out. I don't know how frequently you peruse DU but there are masses of them in General Discussion (which moves threads to page 2 quickly) and I have certainly tried to post them in LBN.

There are too many infantilized people on this site. I.e., like a baby, if you "don't see it, then it doesn't exist". One day, people will finally understand that WE DON'T OWN MEDIA. THE RIGHT-WING DOES. And that RW corporate media is NOT going to do anything to support our cause. Some of the independent media does but they don't have that big megaphone power of the big corporations. We prefer to spend our money on "HELPING PEOPLE". The GOP spends money on "HURTING PEOPLE" and to enrich themselves through some scheme.

If you stumble across local media outlets across the country, you will SEE reports of town halls that (D) members ARE having but only the contentious ones get "national" media attention. I have seen several posted on Instagram but and since I don't have any "social media" accounts, if it lets me view them "publicly" (through a website), I will look at them.

I.e., our Democratic elected officials (through their staff) are publishing their whereabouts, but not on media that DU "prefers". There is no way to embed Instagram videos on DU but if I can find a YouTube version, I try to include that in a related news post.

That 's why I try to dig through at least 3 dozen news sites daily and often stumble on some "local" stuff that manages to bleed into the national media and/or will post that local media stuff that I find. Otherwise, DU DOES have "state" groups and many of these events are posted about in those groups, although not many people make it into those groups and not all of the threads there break through to the "Greatest".

I also think we need to accept the fact that the current "leadership" (in Congress) were elected under a totally different environment and they are struggling to adapt but are finally "getting it".

There are a lot who boastfully assert that they don't react to "hair on fire" hyperbole but IMHO there comes a time, and we are there, where the environment IS "hair on fire" and one needs to "react". I.e., I often compare this to the tale of "Peter and the Wolf", where Peter continually warns people about a wolf sighting and the townspeople respond and find nothing. And when this happens time and time again, the townspeople eventually ignore Peter... until the day a wolf DOES appear, and after they ignore the hysterical little boy, they soon discover that the wolf HAS eaten their sheep.

[Miguelito Loveless]

11. I was going to engage in a lot of point by point

rebuttal, but I have chosen not to. You make a lot of valid arguments, and we are on the same side. I have chosen instead to reflect on your points and examine my own views understanding that they are colored by my frustration at the current situation. To be honest, I would love to meet you somewhere, have a pizza, and hash this out since you are a sane person, and sane people no longer exist on the other side. I appreciate your time in responding and your dedication to DU in the face of a lot of very angry and upset people (myself included).

[BumRushDaShow]

12. YOU are NOT alone!

I am frustrated as hell and I'm actually going through all these news sites and seeing the crap.

BUT... I'm also seeing the "good news" that gets suppressed by the national media (or minimized or quickly shoved off their "front page" ) , including something I'm about to post in a sec!

In our morass, there are many beacons of light and I think in the nightmarish confusion, there is a shift happening. But that chaos has to be "harnessed" and directed in a manner that will benefit US... and unfortunately it may take some time (when every second counts ), but I think once it does coalesce, things will move more quickly in how we proceed.

[Miguelito Loveless]

13. I so hope you are right

I do what I can in my community (we staged a funeral for the Constitution outside Thom Tillis' office this past Saturday and we have set up alert networks for ICE). but there are days I feel like crying. About 20 years ago I remember trying to explain to a senatorial candidate in NC (she lost to Richard Burr) that her proudly talking about her ability to "work with her colleagues across the aisle" was a bad strategy because Dem voters were tired of politeness in the face of an ever more extreme GOP, and that her "colleagues" would cheerfully use her cordiality to get what they wanted, then cheerfully slit her throat.

My wife is a poll worker and I am terrified of what might happen in 2026, as the MAGA crowd are promising to disrupt the election, which to me is code for violence.

We all have a lot at stake, and it burns me up that so many of the "consultant" class are making a fortune giving bad advice to candidates.

If you’re mad about Dems avoiding talking about DC, you can blame the Democratic quants, as demonstrated in this memo from David Shor’s Blue Rose Research

— Will Stancil (@whstancil.bsky.social) 2025-08-24T17:59:45.525Z

[milestogo]

6. Chicago hosts a lot of tourism

Museums, conventions, professional sports, musical events, parades, festivals. Lots of higher education. Two major airports and loads of public transportation... it runs pretty smoothly. It doesn't need armed guards to fuck everything up.