Illinois Governor JB Pritzker vows to prevent federal agents from coming to Chicago
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday he would do everything within his power to stop federal agents from coming to Chicago.
“If they’re thinking about sending agents in, federal service agents, into the city, they need to answer to the governor of the state, the mayor of the city of Chicago, to the attorney general for the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “We’re going to do everything we can to prevent them from coming. And if they do come, we’re going to do everything we can from a legal perspective to get them out.”
The Chicago Tribune reported Monday that the Department of Homeland Security was developing a plan to act on President Donald Trump’s promises and send federal agents to Chicago and other cities governed by Democrats to control violence.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposed the move, expressing concerns about resident safety, and at a news conference in Collinsville the governor reflected her comments.
“It is a wrongheaded move on the part of the Department of Homeland Security,” Pritzker said, adding that his calls to the U.S. Department of Defense have so far gone unreturned.
The threat comes after federal agents arrested and clashed with protesters in Portland, raising outrage among demonstrators and senators.
U.S. senators from Illinois Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and other congressmen introduced legislation Tuesday “to block the Trump administration from deploying federal forces as a shadowy paramilitary against Americans.”
“What’s happening in Portland, and what could happen in Chicago or any number of cities across the country, is deeply troubling,” Duckworth said.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 12:34 PM.
