Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) is threatening President Donald Trump over possibly sending the National Guard to Chicago as crime grips the city.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Pritzker claimed officials would not stand down if the president decides to make the move.
“Unlike Donald Trump, we keep our promises. We will not stand idly by if he decides to send the National Guard to intimidate Chicagoans. Action will be met with a response,” he wrote:
His comments come after Trump said on Friday his administration was considering fighting crime in Chicago since the federal government began combatting crime in Washington, DC with such positive results, Breitbart News reported.
The president explained how he was planning on taking public safety efforts to places including Chicago. Trump said the city was a “mess” and had an incompetent mayor.
“We’ll straighten that one out, probably next. That’ll be our next one after this, and it won’t even be tough. And the people in Chicago, Mr. Vice President, are screaming for us to come. They’re wearing red hats just like this one,” he stated:
Pritzker has since criticized Trump for saying he would be looking into fighting crime in Chicago, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) claimed that if Trump sent the National Guard to his area, community members would rise up against “tyranny,” per Breitbart News.
However, it appears that many of the city’s residents do in fact want Trump to take law enforcement action.
Chicago businessman and former mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson told reporters the issue was “not political” as people living on the south and west sides of the city were suffering under shootings, assaults, and robberies that made them feel unsafe, according to Fox 32.
He said, “Anybody that comes in to help save life, whether they’re Republican, Democrat… I welcome it.”
After Trump federalized the police force in Washington, DC, on August 11, the area experienced a significant drop in the crime rate, Breitbart News reported on Friday.
“We are going to make D.C. totally safe. When people come from Iowa, Indiana, all of the beautiful places, and they come, they’re not going to go home in a body bag. They’re not going home in a coffin,” Trump stated.
