SPRINGFIELD – The state of Illinois and city of Chicago are suing to stop the Trump administration from sending hundreds of National Guardsmen here, officials announced Monday. Officials announced Sunday the federal government planned to deploy the National Guard in Chicago with the objective of guarding ICE facilities in Illinois. 

U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy is calling on state and city leaders to stop playing politics with public safety and start working with the President to make Illinois communities safer.

"For 14 years, Chicago has led the country in total murders. The city’s murder rate is 3 times more than Los Angeles, 5 times more than New York City. All of Illinois pays the price for Chicago crime.  In a rational world led by competent leadership, an offer from the U.S. President to help make the streets and neighborhoods of a high-crime city safer would be met with cooperation. City leaders would accept the offer and identify areas where additional support and a strong presence could make a difference. This approach has been embraced in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, TN—but not, of course, in Chicago.

Since September, law enforcement officers in Chicago have seen a drastic increase in attacks against them. ICE officers alone report facing a more than 1000% increase in assaults against them. In Chicago, this weekend, officers were boxed in by several drivers, one allegedly armed with a semi-automatic weapon. 

The attacks on federal officers don’t happen in a vacuum. They comes after Democrat politicians, including Governor Pritzker, Mayor Johnson, as well as Senate-hopefuls Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02)  have repeatedly villainized and demonized law enforcement. Just some of their comments this weekend alone include: 

• Congressman Raja Krishanmoorthi (IL-08), continued the left-wing gaslighting tradition of calling the rioters “peaceful protestors,” saying: “A militarized operation against Americans is happening in Chicago right now. Armored vehicles and masked agents targeting peaceful protesters have no place in a free society.”

• Lt. Gov Juliana Statton, claimed: “Terrified American citizens ripped out of their homes in the middle of the night, ziptied, and forced to wait outside for hours without a lawyer. Young children separated from their parents, homes torn through without warrants. Families returning to ransacked apartments. Their cruelty knows no limits. We are staring fascism in the face.”

• Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02), who had called ICE “the Gestapo” just days ahead of the shooting at the Dallas facility, was unrepentant, posting: “Trump is bringing war to Chicago. He calls our city violent—yet it’s his ICE raids & National Guard that terrorize families, endanger lives, and waste taxpayer dollars. I refuse to bend the knee to a bully in the White House.”

"What kind of response is this rhetoric intended to evoke? Tragically, we have politicians, who have been more focused on political ambitions than public safety. This has left us as an outlier on crime rates. 

“Chicago might look great if you can afford Astor Street. But the truth is, it’s hollowing out as middle-income families flee and poor families are trapped in dangerous neighborhoods. It’s time to lead, not resist. Work with the President to find solutions that make all Chicago neighborhoods safer, not just the Lakefront."

Don is available for video and phone interviews on this topic, with some availability for in-studio discussions. 

###

About Don Tracy: 

Don Tracy is a community leader from Central Illinois who has spent his career fighting for small businesses and working families. An attorney for nearly 50 years, Don is Senior Counsel at Brown, Hay & Stephens, the oldest law firm in Illinois. He has served in a number of public service positions, including Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board, Secretary of the Illinois Bar Foundation, and President of the Abraham Lincoln Association. Born and raised in Mount Sterling in Western Illinois, Don and his wife, Wanda, raised their 4 children and 8 grandchildren in Springfield.