Poll: 65% of Chicagoans oppose sending in National Guard to fight crime

Paris on Politics: Chicagoans polled on possible federal intervention

A new opinion survey says Chicagoans are against the idea of Trump sending in the National Guard, but some less than others.

CHICAGO - A new poll from the group M3, sponsored by a conservative organization called Law and Order PAC, found that 70% of residents oppose President Donald Trump sending in the Army, while 65% oppose sending in the National Guard.

What we know:

The results were notable when broken down by demographic. According to the poll, Hispanics were the group most likely to support military intervention. Forty percent supported sending in the Army, while 47% supported the National Guard. 

An even higher percentage — 49% — supported more intervention from federal immigration enforcement officials.

Chicago residents across the board supported hiring more full-time police officers, with a higher percentage of Black and Hispanic respondents supporting additional officers compared with white respondents.

The poll surveyed 668 Chicago voters. Of the respondents, 42.5% were white, 31% were Black and 12.3% were Hispanic, according to M3.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson and dozens of local elected officials have pushed back against the president’s plans, calling them illegal and unwanted. 

On Wednesday, Pritzker said he believed Trump’s true motive was much darker in nature.

"This is a part of his plan to do something really nefarious, which is to interfere with elections in 2026," Pritzker said. "He wants to have troops on the ground to stop people from voting, to intimidate people from going to the voting booth."

On Thursday morning, Trump again intimated that a federal intervention could be coming. 

In a social media post, he wrote: "Governor Pritzker had 6 murders in Chicago this weekend. Twenty people were shot. But he doesn’t want to ask me for help. Can this be possible? The people are desperate for me to STOP THE CRIME, something the Democrats aren’t capable of doing. STAY TUNED!!!"