Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said the Illinois National Guard has received word that the Department of Homeland Security is seeking the deployment of 100 military troops to Illinois.
The governor delivered the news surrounded by Mayor Brandon Johnson, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other local leaders as he spoke out about border patrol agents patrolling downtown Chicago with guns.
Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard obtained a memo that DHS sent to the Defense Department which sought to request 100 military personnel for Illinois. It’s unclear what type of troops would be deployed or when.
Pritzker said the government is “claiming a need for the protection of ICE personnel and facilities” for the deployment.
“What I have been warning of is now being realized,” Pritzker said. " One thing is clear: None of what [President] Trump is doing is making Illinois safer.”
Pritzker urged Chicagoans to record any interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on their phones, and “narrate what you see, put it on social media.”
“With one voice, we are telling this unwarranted and unconstitutional occupation by ICE and potentially by military troops to get out of Chicago,” Pritzker said. “You are not helping us.”
Raoul said Illinois will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration, “if the evidence follows, the pattern follows what we’ve seen in Oregon.” Trump has deployed the National Guard to Portland — and Oregon has filed suit.
“Clearly, this deployment of the federal officers... is meant to provoke Chicago,” Raoul said. “What the president is hoping to do is foment chaos by inciting out of control protests. So I urge Illinoisans, don’t take the bait.”
DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday afternoon.
This is a developing story.
