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The president deployed troops to combat crime in Washington,
D.C. earlier this month and suggested last week that Chicago
could be next.
When asked Wednesday about reports that federal agencies might
use Naval Station Great Lakes for staging, the governor said he
had received no calls from the White House or anyone from the
federal government who might be in charge of troop movement.
Speaking at the ribbon-cutting for a new housing facility in
Maywood, Pritzker said Illinois is 19th best among the 50 states
in terms of violent crime.
“And the city of Chicago isn’t even in the Top 25 major cities
with high crime rates, because we’ve worked to bring it down,”
Pritzker said.
Chicago reported 573 homicides last year, more than any other
U.S. city. According to the Rochester Institute of Technology
Center for Public Safety Initiatives, New York reported 377
homicides. The report has St. Louis with the highest homicide
rate of 54.4%. Chicago's homicide rate was 21.7%, coming in at
No. 8.
Trump called out Pritzker at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
“Like this slob of a governor you have in Illinois. This poor
guy got thrown out of his business by his family. I know the
family. I was partners with the family. I like the family, but
he’s no good. They threw him out,” Trump said.
Trump noted that people have referred to him as a dictator. The
president said he is not a dictator, but he knows how to stop
crime.
“You would think that Illinois would have such a problem with
crime, such a bad governor. He should be calling me and he
should be saying, ‘Could you send over the troops, please? It’s
out of control,’” Trump said.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, joined
Pritzker in Maywood and also criticized Trump.
“We’ve heard a president talking about occupying our state and
our cities with the military, rather than talking about
investing in our communities,” Welch said.
Brett Rowland contributed to this report.
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