Gov. Pritzker Details Escalating Federal Overreach as Trump Plans to Invade Illinois
October 6, 2025
CHICAGO - Today, Governor JB Pritzker hosted a press conference with elected officials in response to Trump’s unconstitutional and unlawful plans to deploy hundreds of Illinois National Guard members into Chicago communities and send hundreds of Texas National Guard members to Illinois. In response to these actions, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful deployment of troops to Illinois.
During the press conference, Governor Pritzker detailed how the federal government has engaged in a broader campaign to systemically incite violence and intimidation across the Chicagoland area. Rather than going after “the worst of the worst,” federal agents have indiscriminately targeted people based on the color of their skin, arrested elected officials, and more.
In recent weeks, federal officials have:
- Shot and killed Silverio Villegas-González in Franklin Park, Illinois and provided misleading information regarding the circumstances of his death [Chicago Sun-Times]
- Deployed a Black Hawk helicopter into a South Side neighborhood in the dead of night, removing residents from their homes, zip-tying them, and detaining them in vans for hours — including children separated from their parents [ABC 7, People Magazine]
- In response, Governor Pritzker has directed state agencies to provide support and evaluate the treatment of children during the federal raid in South Shore. [Gov. Pritzker Press Release]
- Snatched a family in broad daylight, allegedly based on the color of their skin [Chicago Tribune]
- Arrested elected officials [Alderperson Fuentes Facebook, OakPark.Com]
- Fired rubber bullets and deployed tear gas against peaceful protestors [Block Club Chicago]
- Arrested a reporter and used a chemical agents against another reporter ‘unprovoked’ [Block Club Chicago, BlueSky]
- Deployed chemical agents on a busy street near an elementary school and grocery store [Chicago Sun-Times]
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