David Harris, former adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard, speaks to Illinois Army National Guard members in 2002. Daily Herald file photo, 2022

How typical is it for a president to call up National Guard troops for an urban crime-fighting mission?

“Extremely unusual,” said former Illinois National Guard adjutant general David Harris, current state Department of Revenue director.

President Donald Trump deployed National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles in June and Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11, promising to reduce violence amid opposition by local leaders.

Trump has warned for days Chicago could be next.

But “the president’s authority to call out the National Guard is not absolute,” said Harris, who’s also served as a Republican state lawmaker from Arlington Heights and chief

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