Pritzker says Illinois will take Trump to court if troops are deployed to Chicago
Pritzker says Illinois will take Trump to court if troops are deployed to Chicago
President Donald Trump on Monday lobbed personal insults toward Gov. JB Pritzker amid uproar over a report of his administration planning to deploy National Guard members to Chicago to combat crime. The governor responded later on Monday and said the state would sue the Trump administration if troops are sent to the city.
CHICAGO - President Donald Trump on Monday lobbed personal insults toward Gov. JB Pritzker amid uproar over a report of his administration planning to deploy National Guard members to Chicago to combat crime.
The governor responded later on Monday and said the state would sue the Trump administration if troops are sent to the city.
‘The guy is a disaster’
What we know:
Trump made the comments in the Oval Office before an executive order aimed at eliminating no-cash bail for suspects in Washington, D.C., where he’s already sent in troops to patrol the streets.
"In a certain way, you really want to be asked to go. You know?" Trump said. "I’d hate to barge in on a city and then be treated horribly by corrupt politicians and bad politicians like a guy like Pritzker. He ought to spend more time in the gym, actually. The guy is a disaster."
The latest barrage of words between the White House and Illinois officials began after a report in the Washington Post on Saturday about the Pentagon’s plans to send a few thousand National Guard members into Chicago. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Pritzker rebuked the idea, and said Trump’s repeated statements about crime in Chicago are overblown.
"Chicago, Illinois, is a disaster. I have property there. It’s a disaster," Trump said. He later added that "Chicago is a killing field."
When asked directly about possible plans to deploy troops to Chicago, a White House spokesperson directed Fox 32 to comments Trump made last Friday in which he called Johnson "grossly incompetent" and said "When we're ready, we'll go in and we'll straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C."
But Pritzker and Johnson both pointed to improving violent crime numbers in Chicago so far this year, a trend seen in big cities across the nation. The governor said there was no emergency warranting sending in federal troops.
‘The president seems afraid of me’
The other side:
Later on Monday afternoon, Pritzker took questions about Trump's threats while on a water taxi on the Chicago River. He was asked what his response would be if troops were indeed sent to the city.
"First thing we’re gonna do is take him to court because it’s illegal. It’s unconstitutional," Pritzker said. "Frankly, it’s un-American to send troops into an American city the way that he wants to to fight crime. There is literally a law on the books that says he’s not allowed to do that."
The governor said he hadn't heard from the president, Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth or any other administration official about any possible deployment.
"Strangely the president seems afraid of me and won’t call," he said.
Pritzker did acknowledge that there is crime in Chicago, "like there is in other cities." But he added that recent declines of crime in Chicago have actualy exceeded other large cities.
The governor was also asked to respond to Trump's personal attacks on Pritzker.
"From my perspective it takes one to know one on the weight question and the president of course himself is not in good shape," Pritzker said. "So he ought to respond to that from me. I would say also that his personal attacks on me are just evidence of a guy who’s still living in fifth grade. He’s the kind of bully that throws invectives at people and because he knows that what he's saying is actually commentary on himself."
IL Gov. JB Pritzker responds to Trump's attacks, threat of deploying troops to Chicago
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker took questions while riding along the Chicago River on Monday in response to comments from President Trump attacking him.
Violent crime is largely down
By the numbers:
On Sunday, Johnson touted the city’s success in lowering violent crime this year.
"Look, it’s a 32% reduction in homicides," he said. "The month of April, we had the fewest amount of homicides since 1962 for just that month alone. There’s no secret we have more work to do. That work has to be done collectively."
Data from the Chicago Police Department so far this year shows significant declines in violent crime citywide.
As of Monday, murders are down 31% compared to 2024, year-to-date. Robberies were also down 33%, aggravated batteries were down 13%, burglaries were down 21% and motor vehicle thefts were down 26%, over the same period.
Johnson's office on Monday also pointed to the city's improving clearance rate, or the percentage of cases in which an arrest is made or charges brought. The mayor said he's restructured CPD and added detectives, resulting in a 77.4% clearance rate, the highest in more than a decade, his office said.
Such numbers appear to reflect nationwide trends.
The overall homicide rate in 30 major cities across the U.S. was down 17% through the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice.