(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he is glad to hear that President Donald Trump is not planning to send the National Guard to Chicago.
Pritzker spoke at Harold Washington College in Chicago Monday after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee indicated that his state’s National Guard would be deployed to address crime in Memphis.
On the other hand, Pritzker said that Trump changes his mind from week to week.
“We never really know what he intends to do,” Pritzker added.
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.
Attorney David Shestokas, who ran for the Republican Illinois Attorney General nomination in 2022, 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.
