President Donald Trump has once again thrust Chicago into the national spotlight, declaring on August 22, 2025, that the city could be the next target for federal troop deployment as part of his administration’s ongoing campaign to crack down on crime, homelessness, and undocumented immigration. This move, echoing recent controversial interventions in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., has sparked fierce resistance from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both of whom argue that federal military intervention is not only unnecessary but potentially illegal and destabilizing.
According to The Washington Post and reporting by The Independent, the Pentagon has been quietly preparing for weeks to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to Chicago as early as September. The plan, officials say, could serve as a model for similar operations in other American cities. While discussions about sending active-duty troops to Chicago have occurred, two unnamed officials cited by The Washington Post consider such a step less likely at this stage.
President Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, made his intentions clear: “We're going to make our cities very, very safe. Chicago is a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent, and we'll straighten that one out, probably next that'll be our next one after this, and it won't even be tough,” he said, as quoted by The Hill and Muddy River News. He went on to claim that Chicago’s Black population was “screaming” for his intervention, adding, “So I think Chicago will be our next, and then we'll help with New York.”
This approach is not without precedent. Earlier in June, the Trump administration ordered 4,000 California National Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines into Los Angeles, despite vocal opposition from local and state officials. In Washington, D.C., nearly 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed, with additional personnel sent from at least five states to conduct nightly patrols and assist with immigration enforcement, according to The Hill. The president’s rationale for these deployments centers on what he calls “out-of-control crime” in Democratic-led cities—a narrative that local leaders and crime statistics dispute.
In fact, crime data collected by the FBI reveals that violent crime in Washington, D.C. hit a 30-year low in 2024, contradicting the administration’s claims of a crime surge. The Justice Department has since launched an investigation into whether city officials manipulated crime data, after President Trump accused the capital of creating “fake crime numbers” to undermine his federal takeover. Despite these claims, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has urged the administration to acknowledge the local police statistics, emphasizing the city’s progress in reducing crime.
Back in Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of Trump’s threat to send troops to Chicago. In a statement released on August 23, Pritzker asserted, “The State of Illinois at this time has received no requests or outreach from the federal government asking if we need assistance, and we have made no requests for federal intervention.” He continued, “There is no emergency that warrants the president of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active-duty military within our own borders.”
Pritzker went further in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), accusing Trump and Republicans of manufacturing a crisis to distract from their own political and economic problems. “As Donald Trump attempts to create chaos that distracts from his problems, we’ll call it out for what it is,” he wrote. “Trump and Republicans are trying to distract from the pain they’re causing—from tariffs raising the prices of goods to stripping away healthcare and food from millions.” He added, “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.”
Pritzker also pointed to tangible improvements in Chicago’s public safety, noting, “Crime rates are improving. Homicides are down by more than 30 percent in Chicago in the last year alone.” He credited this progress to community violence intervention programs, which he said 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.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson echoed Pritzker’s concerns, issuing a statement on August 23 that described the potential deployment of federal troops as “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound.” Johnson warned that such an action could “inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement,” undermining the city’s recent achievements in reducing homicides, robberies, and shootings. “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,” Johnson said. He also emphasized that the city had not received any formal communication from the Trump administration regarding additional federal law enforcement or military deployments.
Both Johnson and Pritzker have highlighted the legal and constitutional concerns surrounding federal intervention. Johnson stated unequivocally that deploying federal troops to Chicago would be illegal, while Pritzker stressed the importance of state sovereignty and the need for local law enforcement to take the lead in maintaining public safety. Their arguments have found support among many Chicagoans, who worry that a military presence could erode trust between the community and law enforcement, disrupt local progress, and set a dangerous precedent for federal overreach.
Meanwhile, the National Guard itself is reportedly feeling the strain of repeated deployments for federal law enforcement purposes. Leadership has expressed concern that prolonged operations could divert funding away from essential training and readiness activities, according to The Washington Post. Fox News reported on August 22 that the Trump administration plans to mobilize up to 1,700 National Guard troops across 19 states in the coming weeks, further raising questions about the sustainability and wisdom of this approach.
The broader political context is impossible to ignore. Trump’s critics, including Pritzker and Johnson, see the president’s actions as part of a calculated strategy to shift attention away from other controversies and to project an image of strength and control ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Supporters of the president, on the other hand, argue that decisive action is needed to address crime and restore order in cities they perceive as poorly managed by Democratic leaders.
As the nation watches to see whether Chicago will indeed become the next stage for federal intervention, the debate over the limits of presidential power, the role of the military in domestic affairs, and the future of urban public safety continues to intensify. For now, city and state leaders remain firm in their opposition, insisting that real progress comes from cooperation, community investment, and respect for the rule of law—not from the threat of occupation.
