Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Friday pushed back on President Trump’s threat to target Chicago next in the Trump administration’s crackdown on crime following a sweeping takeover in the nation’s capital.
“As Donald Trump attempts to create chaos that distracts from his problems, we’ll call it out for what it is,” Pritzker wrote in a lengthy thread on social platform X “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.”
“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,” he wrote in a subsequent post, just hours after Trump turned his sights on the Windy City during a speech from the White House.
Later, the Democratic governor added, 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’s playing a game and creating a spectacle for the press to play along with.”
Pritzker wrote in another post, “We don’t play those games. Our commitment to law and order is delivering results.”
The president on Friday told a group of reporters that Chicago was suggested to him as the next city to tackle — just over a week after the administration launched its effort in Washington.
“Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent and we’ll straighten that one out probably next,” he said. “That will be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough.”
In lieu of Trump’s claim, Pritzker said the city’s crime rates are down.
“Crime rates are improving. Homicides are down by more than 30 percent in Chicago in the last year alone,” he wrote online.
The Illinois leader’s comments echo those from D.C. Mayor Murial Bowser (D), who urged the Trump administration to acknowledge local police statistics stating crime in Washington was at a 30-year low. However, administration officials accused city leaders of manipulating the numbers and the Justice Department (DOJ) launched an investigation into the data.
The president has also deployed National Guard troops to assist with DOJ’s takeover of the local police department under the district’s Home Rule Act. Soldiers have been lent by at least five states to conduct nightly patrols and create checkpoints as federal agents aid in immigration enforcement.
Washingtonians have shared sharp objections to the increased presence of soldiers and federal officials. In light of Trump’s threat, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) raised similar concerns.
“We take President Trump’s statements seriously, but to be clear the City has not received any formal communication from the Trump administration regarding additional federal law enforcement or military deployments to Chicago,” Johnson said in a Friday statement.
“Certainly, we have grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the City of Chicago,” he continued. “The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound.”
Johnson and Trump clashed earlier this year when DOJ launched a May investigation into the city over its hiring practices. The Chicago mayor accused the president of targeting Black led cities.
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