WASHINGTON — J.B. Pritzker took a water taxi along the Chicago Riverwalk, past one of Donald Trump's famous downtown towers. The gleaming and heavily trafficked tourist district was a deliberate backdrop on the day the Illinois governor directed a defiant message toward the White House: "Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here."

After Trump's National Guard deployments to Los Angeles in June and Washington, D.C. this month , the Republican says his next targets for federal intervention may be two of the nation's most Democratic cities: Chicago and Baltimore.

Trump's possible move — targeting states whose governors are among potential White House contenders in 2028 — would be another escalation of presidential power, directly challenging th

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