Illinois braces for possible National Guard arrival while lawsuit challenging deployment simmers Politics Oct 7, 2025 11:42 AM EDT

CHICAGO (AP) — Officials in Illinois braced Tuesday for the possible arrival of the National Guard while a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s plan to send hundreds of troops to the Chicago area still simmers and critics vigorously pan the deployment as an assault on the city.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has said some 300 of the state’s guard troops were to be federalized and sent to Chicago, along with 400 from Texas.

“He wants to justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command,” Pritzker said of Trump.

READ MORE: Chicago and Illinois sue to stop Trump’s National Guard deployment plan after Portland rulin

See Full Page