Trump: Chicago is next after Memphis for National Guard
[September 16, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump says Chicago will be next
after Memphis for National Guard deployment.
The President discussed federal deployments to Memphis Monday afternoon
and said his administration would not allow savage crime to continue in
U.S. cities.
“We don’t want to lose Chicago. We’re going to lose Chicago. We’re going
to lose places like St. Louis. We’re not going to lose, we want to save
these places,” Trump said.
The president said he would like help from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker,
but if he doesn't get it, his administration would be "doing it without
him."
Earlier Monday, Pritzker said he was glad to hear that the president was
not planning to send the National Guard to Chicago. On the other hand,
Pritzker said Trump changes his mind from week to week.
“We never really know what he intends to do,” Pritzker added.
Pritzker spoke at Harold Washington College in Chicago after Tennessee
Gov. Bill Lee indicated that his state’s National Guard would be
deployed to address crime in Memphis.
The Illinois governor said it would be a terrible idea to send troops to
any American city.
“The law and the Constitution only allow it in the case of insurrection
or a national emergency, and those are not taking place in any city
across the United States,” Pritzker said.
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Former Republican Attorney General candidate David Shestokas said
the governor is “gaslighting” by saying it would be unconstitutional
for the president to deploy the National Guard in Chicago.
“The local authorities have abdicated their duty under the 14th
Amendment to protect the lives of the citizens in the area under
their care,” Shestokas said.
Shestokas is a former Assistant State’s Attorney for the Cook County
State’s Attorney’s Office. He finished third in the Republican
primary election for Illinois Attorney General in 2022.
Shestokas said the Insurrection Act overrides Posse Comitatus, which
Pritzker has cited.
“That’s a lie. It’s not the law. They’re making it up. If they cite
something called the ‘Posse Comitatus Act,’ the Insurrection Act
actually has an exception to that,” Shestokas said.
Shestokas said, since 1794, U.S. presidents have deployed troops 30
times under the Insurrection Act.
“It’s been used over and over and over again, guess what, without
the permission of the local authorities,” Shestokas said.
Shestokas spoke at a press conference last Thursday calling for
National Guard deployments in Chicago.
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