Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will join several other Democratic elected officials and well-known actors in giving unofficial responses to President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, according to a news release about the event.
Organizers are calling the “State of the Swamp” a boycott of Mr. Trump’s address. Frey and Johnson are expected to join Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, actors Robert De Niro and Mark Ruffalo, journalists Don Lemon and Jim Acosta and several others at the event. It’s scheduled to take place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response to Mr. Trump’s speech, according to party leaders in Congress.
“There are moments in our country’s history when leadership is measured not by party loyalty, but by moral clarity. This is one of those moments,” Frey said in the release.
Johnson added, “Donald Trump’s vision for America runs counter to the hopes and aspirations of the working people who wake up every single day and make our cities run.”
Minneapolis and Chicago have both faced an influx of federal agents as part of a nationwide immigration crackdown by the Trump administration. Organizers, without expanding, cited the cities as faces “of the resistance to lawless actions” of the administration.
Border czar Tom Homan said on Sunday that more than 1,000 immigration agents have left Minnesota since he announced the end of Operation Metro Surge, and several hundred more were expected to leave in the coming days.
Johnson last month signed an executive order directing members of the Chicago Police Department to investigate and document any alleged illegal activity by federal immigration agents. Police will preserve and provide evidence of felony violations to the Cook County State’s Attorney.
Defiance.org, which is organizing the event, is a club for people “willing to take peaceful, lawful, defiant action to defend democracy” from Mr. Trump, according to its website.
WCCO is reaching out to Frey’s office for comment.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Saturday morning, directing Chicago police to investigate any alleged illegal activity by federal immigration agents.
During the signing, Johnson said the city must prepare for federal agents to potentially return to Chicago in the spring.
Under the “ICE On Notice” order, if CPD personnel observe or receive reports of alleged violations of state or local law by federal agents, they must:
Document federal enforcement activities in accordance with CPD policy;
Ensure that any body camera footage captured during the incident – including footage of any use of force, detentions, injuries, or other enforcement activity – is preserved;
Seek to identify the federal supervisory officer on scene, attempt to verify the supervisory officer’s name and badge number, and record the credential verification using body-cameras-including any refusal to comply;
Complete a report on any violation of state or local law by federal agents consistent with CPD policy;
Immediately summon emergency medical services and render aid to any injured person on the scene
CPD must also provide any evidence of alleged felony violations to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the order states. Additionally, CPD must share data on federal immigration officers’ alleged legal violations with the pubic.
Johnson’s office says his executive order makes Chicago “the first city in the nation to leverage local authority to pursue legal accountability for misconduct by federal immigration agents.”
“Nobody is above the law. There is no such thing as ‘absolute immunity’ in America,” Johnson said in a statement. “The lawlessness of Trump’s militarized immigration agents puts the lives and well-being of every Chicagoan in immediate danger. With today’s order, we are putting ICE on notice in our city. Chicago will not sit idly by while Trump floods federal agents into our communities and terrorizes our residents.”
The action has drawn mixed reaction. Some people were celebrating as others gathered Saturday evening at a protest downtown Chicago.
Democrats are condemning the attack and capture of Maduro, because they say it was done without congressional approval, while Republicans are applauding the action, deeming it a win in the war on drug trafficking.
The entirety of Federal Plaza in the Loop was packed with large crowds of protesters pushing back against the Trump administration. They say this is another unnecessary act of war while demanding an end to the use of tax payer dollars for international affairs.
The fiery crowd in downtown Chicago spoke out against the U.S. attacks on Venezuela as President Maduro and his wife were taken into custody by U.S. forces. Anti-war activists say the U.S. has been down this road before.
A large protest was held dowtown Chicago after President Donald Trump said the U.S. attacked Venezuela and captured Pres. Nicolás Maduro.
“Whether it’s Saddam Hussein in Iraq or the Taliban in Afghanistan, Panama, Libya , you name it… whenever the U.S. attacks another country like this, it’s the people of those countries who suffer the most,” said Andy Thayer with the Chicago Committee Against War and Racism.
While many Venezuelan nationals are happy to see the regime removed, there are growing concerns in the Chicago area over how all of this was carried out as Congress was not notified of the operation.
“An open violation of international and U.S. law, invading a sovereign country, kidnapped their president, kidnapped their first lady, and call this just,” Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez said.
Protesters continue to demand the Trump administration to focus on issues in the U.S.
“The people of Chicago oppose this because our public infrastructure is underfunded it’s failing we don’t have social programs people are facing homelessness,” said Caeli Kean, Anti-War Committee of Chicago Co-Chair. “And meanwhile are tax payer dollars are going to bomb people in Venezuela.”
President Trump said Saturday that a team of U.S. officials will help run Venezuela during this transition.
Thomas Mockaitis, a history professor at DePaul University, is worried about the precedent this sets for other international affairs.
“If the United States can get away with doing this, how do we look Vladimir Putin in the eye and say, ‘You can’t invade another country. You can’t replace somebody just because you don’t like him,’” Mockaitis said. “He’s gonna look at us and say, ‘Why can’t we?’”
Political leaders in Illinois and Indiana are weighing in on the overnight strike in Venezuela and capture of the country’s ousted leader. Democrats are saying the attack was done without Congress’ knowledge or approval.
Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL) serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“To be clear, there has been no communication from the [Trump] administration. The [Trump] administration did not notify anyone in Congress,” Rep. Schneider said. “We’ve been trying to understand what the attacks in the Caribbean and the Atlantic were about. If they were about drug smuggling, this is a president who just pardoned one of the most serious drug traffickers in the world.”
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said in a statement, “Nicolas Maduro repeatedly denied the will of the Venezuelan people,” but went on to say the Trump administration “MUST provide briefings for all Members of Congress as soon as possible this week.”
Durbin’s Indiana counterparts, Republican senators Jim Banks and Todd Young, are supporting the military operation.
Banks said “Maduro turned Venezuela into a narco-state. A drug cartel posing as a government and killing Americans. Let this be a warning to every narcoterrorist in the Western Hemisphere,” while Young said “This should be an opportunity to bring Maduro to justice for his many crimes and a day of new hope for the Venezuelan people.”
Both Illinois and Indiana governors are split on the strike, too.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is calling the military action “unconstitutional,” saying it puts American troops, “in harm’s way with no long-term strategy.”
Indiana Governor Mike Braun says he stands with President Trump, saying that, “Indiana families have paid too high a price for the deadly drugs pushed by criminal regimes.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker posted the following statement on social media: “Donald Trump’s unconstitutional military action in Venezuela is putting our troops in harm’s way with no long-term strategy. “The American people deserve a President focused on making their lives more affordable.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued the following statement: “The Trump administration’s military action in Venezuela violates international law and dangerously escalates the possibility of full-scale war. The illegal actions by the Trump administration have nothing to do with defending the Venezuelan people; they are solely about oil and power. “As we have said for the past two years, the dehumanization of migrants from Venezuela, and of immigrants generally, by the Far Right has laid the groundwork for military action in Central and South America. I strongly condemn the Trump administration’s inhumane treatment of migrants in our country and this illegal regime change abroad. “In Chicago, we will continue to uphold the values of peace, diplomacy, and mutual respect for all people.”
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) posted the following statement on social media: “Nicolás Maduro repeatedly denied the will of the Venezuelan people, including when two thirds of them voted for an end to decades of political & economic ruin and criminality. “However, I disagree with President Trump’s use of U.S. military forces without Congressional approval & worry deeply about this Admin’s follow through on foreign policy interventions. “The Trump Admin MUST provide briefings for all Members of Congress as soon as possible this week.”
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement: “The American people believed Donald Trump when he promised on the campaign trail that he would get our nation out of foreign wars, but this morning we awoke to another stark reminder that he is-and has always been-a liar who has never cared about keeping his promises. The Constitution requires the American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, to authorize any President to engage in acts of war-because they will be the ones to live with the consequences of the decision-and it is unacceptable for this President to deny them that responsibility. “While Trump-whose love of country is best measured by the number of times he dodged the draft during Vietnam-may believe that war is ‘like watching a TV show’ as he said this morning, he has never understood or appreciated that the true costs of war are measured not only in dollars and cents, but in the blood, sweat and sacrifices of our troops and our military families. Sadly, our troops understand all too well just how costly it can be when our nation engages in war without a plan for what comes next, destabilizing an entire region. “Donald Trump’s reckless and unconstitutional operations in Venezuela-including this morning’s arrest of a foreign leader-are not about enforcing law and order because if they were, he wouldn’t hide them from Congress. Maduro was unquestionably a bad actor, but no President has the authority to unilaterally decide to use force to topple a government, thrusting us and the region into uncertainty without justification, a defined end-state or a real plan for preventing the instability that could come next. His actions continue putting American troops, personnel and citizens at risk both in the region and around the globe. None of that serves our nation’s interests.”
Indiana Governor Mike Braun posted the following statement on social media: “By arresting Nicolás Maduro, POTUS is cutting off narcoterrorism at the source and helping save Hoosier lives. Indiana families have paid too high a price for the deadly drugs pushed by criminal regimes, and we stand with President Trump in holding them accountable.”
U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN) posted the following statements on social media: “I commend the bravery and professionalism of U.S. personnel who carried out a successful mission in Venezuela. This should be an opportunity to bring Maduro to justice for his many crimes and a day of new hope for the Venezuelan people. I look forward to hearing more about the Administration’s plans for a positive transition in the days ahead.” “I appreciate POTUS briefing the American people this morning about the successful operation in Venezuela. We still need more answers, especially to questions regarding the next steps in Venezuela’s transition. As Congress returns to Washington next week, I am eager to work with members of the Trump Administration to bring clarity to the situation.”
U.S. Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) posted the following statements on social media: “Maduro turned Venezuela into a narco-state. A drug cartel posing as a government and killing Americans. Let this be a warning to every narcoterrorist in the Western Hemisphere. President Trump is doing exactly what Americans elected him to do, protect America and keep our people safe.” “Proud of our brave service members who got the job done and sacrifice everyday to keep America safe. The United States military is the strongest fighting force on Earth. God bless our troops.”
When Ana Gil García heard about the United States’ capture of Venezuela’s president, she felt a sense of cautious optimism.
But the cofounder of the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance said she knows the future of the country and her son who lives in Caracas hang in the balance. She’s also wary of a foreign government intervening in the South American country. Venezuelans should decide their own destiny, she said.
“We don’t know what could be the immediate consequences to the country,” Gil said. “What we know is that we cannot accept civilians being killed … we are against any intervention in which civilians will suffer more than what they have already suffered.”
The Trump administration’s capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife early Saturday morning brought up complicated emotions for some Venezuelan community leaders. Some groups and elected officials categorically opposed the stunning operation, calling it government overreach. Others, like Gil, said there’s some hope in being rid of a leader most human rights organizations describe as a dictator.
The U.S. flew Maduro out of Venezuela in an extraordinary military operation that plucked a sitting leader from office. Maduro and his wife arrived in New York to face prosecution by the Justice Department after a grand jury indicted them on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges.
President Donald Trump insisted the U.S. government would run the country at least temporarily and would tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to sell “large amounts” to other countries. The legal authority for the operation was not immediately clear, though the Trump administration described it — and earlier deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea — as necessary to stem the flow of dangerous drugs.
Gov. JB Pritzker, however, called it an “unconstitutional military action” in a statement, and said Trump is putting troops in danger with “no long-term strategy.”
“The American people deserve a President focused on making their lives more affordable,” he said.
Meanwhile, hundreds gathered downtown Saturday evening to protest the operation. Carrying signs that said, “No War on Venezuela,” and chanting, “No war, no coup, Donald Trump shame on you,” protesters criticized American “forever wars.” They also said it’s immoral for the government to profit from Venezuelan oil.
“Every single time the United States attacks another country, regardless of what the political color of that regime in power, the people of those countries suffer immeasurably,” activist Andy Thayer said.
“However impoverished they were before, they were greatly more impoverished afterwards,” he added.
Demonstrators gather for a protest against the U.S. military strike in Venezuela, at Chicago’s Federal Plaza, Jan. 3, 2026. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
In addition to Pritzker, several local elected officials condemned the action. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth called it “reckless and unconstitutional,” while Mayor Brandon Johnson said it “violates international law” and “dangerously escalates the possibility of full-scale war.”
“As we have said for the past two years, the dehumanization of migrants from Venezuela, and of immigrants generally, by the Far Right has laid the groundwork for military action in Central and South America,” Johnson said in a statement.
About 50,000 Venezuelan migrants have arrived in Chicago over the last several years as they fled political turmoil and extreme poverty in their home country. The Supreme Court last year allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections for thousands of these migrants, some of whom were arrested in recent immigration enforcement operations.
Gil said, if anything, she hopes the military action helps people understand why swaths of immigrants fled Venezuela for better opportunities in the United States.
“When we left the country, we didn’t leave because we wanted to,” Gil said. “The people were forced to.”
Several Republicans had a more favorable reaction to the operation. Adam Kinzinger, a former congressman from Illinois, for example, said Maduro was never a “legitimate president” and that removing him without a massive military occupation is “how it should be done.”
“This was the right call,” he said on social media. “May Maduro face justice and the people of Venezuela be free.”
Luciana Díaz, the CEO of Panas en Chicago, a nonprofit that supports Venezuelan migrants, also said in a statement that they’re “deeply hopeful and encouraged for our community and for our country, after 28 years of dictatorship that forced thousands of Venezuelans many of whom are now asylum-seekers to rebuild their lives in cities like Chicago.”
“We have witnessed firsthand the human impact of this prolonged crisis. We trust that this moment will mark the beginning of a transition toward democracy, justice and the reunification of Venezuelan families,” Díaz said.
“God is with us. We continue to wait for a peaceful and genuine transition,” she added.
The interim chair of the Chicago City Council’s Zoning Committee is halting its meetings to try to force Mayor Brandon Johnson to appoint a permanent head of the critical committee.
North Side Ald. Bennett Lawson, who has led the committee since August, said Monday he is no longer willing to serve as its interim chief. He has not called a Zoning Committee meeting for January and said Monday was the last possible day to do so.
The decision stalls progress on potentially dozens of developments that will not be able to come before the City Council for final approval votes next month.
“If I continue to be in the acting role, it kicks the can down the road,” Lawson, whose 44th Ward includes Lincoln Park, told the Tribune. “I think it’s going to force the issue and bring about a quick resolution.”
Appointing a chairperson for the committee has proven politically difficult for Johnson. It has been complicated by a tangled mix of competing political interests, including the aldermanic Black and Latino caucuses and progressive and moderate council members, all vying for control of additional City Council committees.
The mayor’s initial pick, former Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, resigned while facing bullying allegations from fellow aldermen. It was then left open in November 2023 before Johnson tapped former Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. in September 2024. But Burnett stepped down from the council in July.
While the chairmanship has remained unfilled since, Lawson has filled the interim role — first for nine months when Johnson and aldermen failed to select a successor after Ramirez-Rosa’s resignation, and then again after Burnett stepped down. When Burnett resigned, Lawson publicly stated he was unwilling to remain in the interim chairman role indefinitely.
Johnson said Monday he plans to share a proposal to reorganize the City Council chairmanships.
“I’m confident we’ll be able to land an agreement where people will understand the configuration,” he said. “Am I worried about any sort of delay? I don’t have any reason to be worried about that.”
Asked when he would make his proposal, Johnson only said, “Soon.”
In addition to addressing complex issues related to development, the Zoning Committee also has meetings that typically last at least three hours. With an hourlong pre-meeting and the thorny issues it deliberates — gentrification, landmarking, design restrictions and more — the chairmanship adds a great deal of work for whoever holds it, Lawson said.
“If there isn’t a decision made, I get stuck with the responsibility, which is not insignificant,” he said. “There’s a reason that it comes with a larger staff and a different office space and a seat at the Planning Commission, and, you know, a different seat at the table. That just isn’t happening right now.”
Lawson said he hopes to be selected by Johnson and aldermen to lead the committee. It would be a rare plum role for a City Council freshman, though Lawson previously served as the committee’s chief of staff for four years before becoming its vice chair once he was elected as an alderman.
Johnson sought in September to install as chairman Northwest Side Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st. But aldermen rejected the mayor’s shakeup and did not place the progressive who leads the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee in the role.
Complicating the matter: Picking many aldermen would pull them away from other leadership positions and require even more reshuffling.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas has also floated himself as a potential candidate for the role. His ambition became clearer in November when Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, called for a vote that would have suddenly landed Lawson the seat.
“There’s not enough diversity within the most important chairmanships,” Villegas told colleagues. “I’d like to make a motion to strike and insert Ald. Villegas as the Zoning chairman so that way we can move forward.”
But instead of selecting Villegas or Lawson, aldermen decided not to vote for a chair.
It’s a story repeating itself: Border Patrol agents flooding immigrant neighborhoods, showing dramatic force, storming Home Depot parking lots and preying on people at courthouses.
Those arrests erupted in Chicago. Then they were 750 miles away in Charlotte, North Carolina. And they will keep roving across the country.
But no matter where they go, Chicagoans will try to stop them.
As President Donald Trump’s ramped-up Border Patrol action hits city after city, Chicago’s immigration-focused community organizers are following. They aim to pass on what they learned to foster pushback in Operation Midway Blitz.
Chicago’s immigration advocacy groups, which played an integral role organizing on-the-ground rapid responders, are now sharing their information nationwide.
Veronica Castro, deputy director at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said she has been in at least half a dozen calls with organizations, mutual aid groups and government entities outside of Chicago, including Boston and North Carolina on best ways to prepare for immigration enforcement.
“We definitely want to share information with other folks,” she said. Earlier in the year, Castro and her team reached out to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to prepare for the immigration crackdown in Chicago and is now circling back to them to “compare notes.”
Casa Central, a Hispanic social services agency in Chicago, is planning a conference call with 304 invited affiliates of Unidos US to discuss rapid response tactics and insights from immigration enforcement in Chicago, according to Unidos’ director of immigrant integration, Laura Vázquez.
The call will feature information on the long-lasting humanitarian impact of what happens to family members after some of them, often the primary income earners, are detained, said Vázquez.
“There is tremendous value in bringing people together so organizations can learn lessons and effective tactics,” said Vázquez, who noted interest went beyond North Carolina, from New Orleans to New York City, where threats of similar immigration operations loom.
The federal action centered in Charlotte last week, where Trump’s Border Patrol chief, Gregory Bovino, led a weeklong arrest spree that quickly started after agents left Chicago.
Pooja Ravindran, who lived for a decade in North Carolina and is now chief of staff for Chicago City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, once again couldn’t look away as the arrests hushed cherished hometown bakeries, coffee shops and an elementary school in Charlotte.
Ravindran has met online around 10 times with groups in Charlotte to present tactics learned organizing alongside Ald. Andre Vásquez, the committee’s chair.
“I can’t be at all places at once, I can’t be in all of the areas where I call home to prep everyone,” Ravindran said. “To see the resistance, but also the devastation, there is just a whirlwind of emotions.”
Earlier this week, Protect Rogers Park community organizer Gabe González said he planned to travel to Charlotte, where he was set to speak with hundreds to try to pass the information baton.
“We learned from Los Angeles and D.C. and it’s our turn to share what we learned with the cities facing it now,” said González, co-founder of Protect Rogers Park.
Just as González was preparing to discuss safe resistance techniques with the North Carolina crowd, Border Patrol reportedly ended its operations in Charlotte dubbed “Charlotte’s Web.” But González is skeptical that the actions will truly end.
“Today it’s in Charlotte, tomorrow it might be in New Orleans, and in March it might be back in Chicago,” said González, who is also in touch with community organizers in New Orleans and Memphis, Tennessee.
Chicago’s top elected leaders have gotten involved too, from the City Hall to Springfield.
Gov. JB Pritzker spoke to North Carolina’s Gov. Josh Stein about dealing with masked federal agents, tear gas deployment and documenting activity when rights were being violated, his office said in a statement.
The governor has stayed in touch with California, Oregon and other states in an effort to “push back against these authoritarian power grabs and curb normalizing the militarization of American communities,” the statement said.
On Friday, Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago’s deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, met with leaders in St. Paul, Minnesota, where federal agents arrested over a dozen people Tuesday at a manufacturing plant.
Ponce de León shared strategies Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has used to push back, like lawsuits, executive orders and close collaboration with community groups.
“Chicago clearly is front and center in the response to these militarized immigration tactics,” she said. “We are all in this together … Why would we not share what we learned?”
When other cities reach out, Ponce de León often offers advice she got from people in Washington, D.C.: “This is a moment to be very clear and bold and not to shrink away.”
The quick response from Charlotte community groups to respond to and document arrests occurred in part because of what people there learned from Chicago, she said. And someday, the connections made by City Hall now could shape its own response if federal agents return en masse.
“As the federal actions evolve, we all have to evolve and be as prepared as possible to maintain and to protect the things that are important to us and to our cities,” she said.
At the online meetings Ravindran helps organize, other cities are getting everything from advice on how to fight for more legal protection funds in budgets to tweakable scheduling documents for volunteer patrols outside schools.
“People were just so grateful that they didn’t have to think about protocol,” Ravindran said. “This documentation has created the opportunity for them to spend more time doing the actual recruitment of folks.”
It was an emotional homecoming for Ravindran, who first engaged in community organizing as a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill student and then continued that work in Charlotte.
But the incremental progress does not erase what Ravindran has witnessed in one home, then another.
“It’s really hard to see, the detentions in your community, over and over again.”
As the Trump administration’s mass deportation raids begin their third month, their impact has stretched across the Chicago region and the nation.
Political tensions have deepened, hundreds of immigrants, protesters and bystanders have been detained or arrested during raids, and thousands have protested across Chicago and the suburbs, from Home Depot and Target parking lots to outside the two-story brick U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview to the massive No Kings Rally downtown.
Here’s what we know about federal immigration enforcement in and around the city, as well as other immigration-related stories and the National Guard deployment.
Residents watch while Gregory Bovino, chief U.S. Border Patrol agent, second from left, and other federal officers finish their march along North Clark Street by the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters yell as U.S. Border Patrol agents depart Chicago’s Gold Coast in vehicles on Sept. 28, 2025, after walking through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents cross the street near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast area on Sept. 28, 2025, after walking through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents march along North Clark Street by the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters yell and record U.S. Border Patrol agents as they leave in vehicles at the corner of Oak and Clark streets in the Gold Coast neighborhood on Sept. 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents talk to a man on a scooter near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, after walking through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection boats head east along the Chicago River toward Lake Michigan on Sept. 25, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents ride east on the Chicago River toward the lake near the Michigan Avenue bridge in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters record U.S. Border Patrol agents at the corner Oak and Clark streets in the Gold Coast neighborhood on Sept. 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Gregory Bovino, chief U.S. Border agent, stands with other federal officers near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, after walking through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A protester talks to U.S. Border Patrol agents near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, after they walked through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, including Border Patrol Sector Chief Greg Bovino in the bow, head east along the Chicago River toward Lake Michigan on Sept. 25, 2025. Four CBP boats were spotted traveling on the river before they docked just south of Navy Pier. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A U.S. Border Patrol boat emerges from under the Lake Shore Drive bridge and passes a tour boat after patrolling the Chicago River on Sept. 24, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection boats make their way east along the Chicago River on Sept. 25, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents walk along North Clark Street by the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Gregory Bovino, chief U.S. Border Patrol agent, stands with other federal officers near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, after walking through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People yell at U.S. Border Patrol agents near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, after walking through downtown as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents stand at the corner Oak and Clark streets in the Gold Coast neighborhood on Sept. 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents walk along North Clark Street by the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents climb into a van after walking along North Clark Street by the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A U.S. Border Patrol boat with armed federal agents head east toward Navy Pier after patrolling the Chicago River on Sept. 24, 2025. Passing behind is a sightseeing boat. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Four U.S. Border Patrol boats dock south of Navy Pier after patrolling the Chicago River on Sept. 24, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection boat patrols the Chicago River while people eat lunch on Sept. 28, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
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Residents watch while Gregory Bovino, chief U.S. Border Patrol agent, second from left, and other federal officers finish their march along North Clark Street by the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast on Sept. 28, 2025, as part of an immigration blitz show of force. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security announced Sept. 8 that it had begun a surge of immigration law enforcement in Chicago, dubbing it “Operation Midway Blitz” and claiming it would target “criminal illegal aliens” who have benefited from the city and state’s sanctuary policies.
The announcement came more than two weeks after the Republican president said he was planning to target Chicago because of the city’s crime rates, causing Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson to warn residents of potential immigration sweeps.
“Let’s be clear, the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here,” Pritzker said Sept. 2.
Trump set the stage for the operation with a social media post depicting military helicopters flying over the city’s lakefront skyline using the title “Chipocalypse Now.” “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” Trump wrote, a day after signing an executive order to rename the Department of Defense to its pre-1949 title.
2.6% of ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories
U.S. Border Patrol agents exchange handcuffs for plastic zip-ties while transferring detainees in Niles on Oct. 31, 2025. The detainees were picked up while they were landscaping on Chicago’s Northwest Side. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The Trump administration on Nov. 14 released the names of 614 people whose Chicago-area immigration arrests may have violated a 2022 consent decree, and only 16 of them have criminal histories that present a “high public safety risk.”
The Department of Homeland Security has claimed since the outset of the operation that they were going after the “worst of the worst,” including convicted murderers, rapists and other violent offenders who were allegedly taking advantage of Illinois’ sanctuary policies to terrorize the citizenry. But the government’s own data appeared to show otherwise.
Among those on the list were several featured in stories by the Tribune, including a couple arrested by ICE in September while driving their eldest son to his university to drop off school materials and later meet the rest of the family in church. The couple, Moises Enciso Trejo and Constantina Ramírez Meraz, were released Thursday and reunited with their four children, according to their attorney, Shelby R. Vcelka.
Also on the list was Darwin Leal, a 24-year-old Venezuelan migrant arrested Sept. 14 while driving in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood with his wife and two young kids. Leal, who is still detained in Texas, was classified by ICE as in the “low” public safety risk category.
A federal judge ruled all immigration enforcement agents must have body cameras and said she was particularly worried about alleged violations in recent clashes, including one in Chicago’s East Side neighborhood where agents used a controversial and potentially dangerous maneuver to disable a fleeing vehicle, then tear-gassed people during a tense gathering at the scene. Tear gas incidents from federal agents during immigration raids have escalated recently, from Little Village to Lakeview to Irving Park.
On Sept. 12, Trump’s immigration-enforcement push took a violent turn when agents fatally shot a man in Franklin Park after he allegedly tried to flee a traffic stop and struck the officer with his vehicle. The man who was killed was identified by federal officials as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a 38-year-old single father with two young children. DHS said in a written statement that Villegas-Gonzalez is a citizen of Mexico and was in the U.S. illegally, though further details were not provided.
On Oct. 4, federal immigration authorities shot a Chicago woman who, according to federal authorities, had tried to impede them in Brighton Park. In the shooting’s wake, protesters quickly took to the intersection to confront the federal forces. Some threw water bottles as the agents tossed tear gas and flash-bang grenades at them on the residential street.
Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino in court
A federal judge in Chicago on Nov. 6 issued a sweeping injunction that puts more permanent restrictions on the use of force by immigration agents, saying top government officials lied in their testimony about threats that protesters posed and that their unlawful behavior on the streets “shows no signs of stopping.”
“I find the government’s evidence to be simply not credible,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said in an oral ruling from the bench, describing a litany of incidents where citizens were tear-gassed “indiscriminately,” beaten and tackled by agents and struck in the face with pepper spray balls.
Bovino said federal agents’ operations had been “going very violent” after the same day that his agents fired pepper balls at a moving vehicle in Gage Park and pointed rifles in Little Village as residents blew whistles, screamed at passing federal cars and followed their large convoy around the city’s Southwest Side. “We can operate with great skill, legally, ethically and morally,” he said during a brief stop in Gage Park.
Restaurants in immigrant neighborhoods are ‘dying a slow death’
Inocencio Carbajal monitors the entrance to Carnitas Uruapan in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood during business hours on Oct. 25, 2025. Recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in the area have resulted in Carbajal and his son, Marcos, keeping watch for activity by federal agents to protect worried customers and workers. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Demonstrators march past Carnitas Uruapan on West 26th Street in the Little Village neighborhood to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A megaphone sits ready, in case of Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence, next to the entrance as Inocencio Carbajal, right, talks with a customer at Carnitas Uruapan in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood during business hours Oct. 25, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Diners have a late lunch at Carnitas Uruapan, 3801 W. 26th St., in the Little Village neighborhood, on Oct. 25, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Marcos Carbajal talks with diners at Carnitas Uruapan in the Little Village neighborhood Oct. 25, 2025, in Chicago. Recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in the area have resulted in Carbajal and his father, Inocencio, keeping watch for federal agent activity to protect worried customers and workers. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
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Inocencio Carbajal monitors the entrance to Carnitas Uruapan in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood during business hours on Oct. 25, 2025. Recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in the area have resulted in Carbajal and his son, Marcos, keeping watch for activity by federal agents to protect worried customers and workers. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Intense immigration enforcement continues to ripple across the Chicago area and the restaurant industry has been feeling the impact: Significantly fewer customers are dining in, owners are locking their doors when they feel unsafe and businesses are operating at a loss.
Since September, Little Village had largely avoided large-scale ICE raids. But on Oct. 22, the shrill sound of whistles filled the neighborhood as volunteers sprang into action, warning people to duck into stores or hide inside private properties.
“We are dying a slow death,” said Marcos Carbajal, owner of Carnitas Uruapan. Little Village and Pilsen, much like Devon Avenue’s Little India in Rogers Park or Greektown on Chicago’s Near West Side, are microeconomies that rely heavily on a shared culture to keep things moving.
What’s happening in Broadview?
Illinois State Police troopers attempt to detain a protester outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 17, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters face off against Illinois State Police troopers outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 17, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stand near concrete barriers where fences were taken down outside an ICE holding facility in Broadview late on Oct. 14, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 14, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
A protester walks toward the protest zone outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 14, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters stand at the corner of Lexington and Beach streets near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 14, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
A fence that a federal court has ordered the Trump administration to remove stands outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility Oct. 13, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers and Cook County sheriff’s deputies push protesters from the road near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility on Oct. 10, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police and Cook County sheriff’s deputies tussle with protesters in the designated protest zone a block from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility on Oct. 10, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters raise a “No Troops in Our Streets” sign at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters recite the rosary outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Zully Sotelo, from left, Eileen Alvarez, Kate Madrigal and Yohanna Sotelo protest outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Texas National Guard members walk outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters and journalists wait at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Oct. 9, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
A Broadview police officer moves protesters away from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility, Oct. 8, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility, Oct. 8, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility on Oct. 8, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
State police troopers stand outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility, Oct. 8, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
A large bus arrives at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility, Oct. 8, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers join Cook County Sheriff’s deputies to monitor an entrance, Oct. 6, 2025, outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A protester sits outside, Oct. 6, 2025, at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police move protesters back near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Oct. 4, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police move protesters off the road near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility, Oct. 4, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility
Activists yell at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility on Oct. 4, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police hold a line near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 4, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police move protesters off the road while they protest recent immigration enforcement actions near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 4, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters embrace near the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Oct. 3, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police move protesters off the road near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, Oct. 4, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police and Cook County Sheriffs keep protesters from 25th Avenue near the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers detain a protester who refused to back up as a vehicle passed along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers detain a protester who refused to back up along Harvard near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers detain a protester who refused to back up near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters confront Illinois State Police troopers outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents ride an armored vehicle as protesters clash with federal agents and Illinois State Police troopers near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
People sing and recite prayers during a Jewish prayer service near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Dozens participate in Jewish prayer service near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters confront federal agents and Illinois State Police troopers near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A protester is detained near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, records as protesters face off with federal agents and Illinois State Police troopers near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, right, warns protesters near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters clash with federal agents and Illinois State Police troopers near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A federal agent watches from an armored vehicle near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers line up to prevent protesters from blocking traffic from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers line up along Harvard Street and prevent protesters from standing on the street and blocking federal vehicles moving to and from from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers line up along Harvard Street and prevent protesters from blocking federal vehicles moving to and from from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents stand on the roof of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers line up along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois State Police troopers line up along Harvard Street and prevent protesters from standing on the street and blocking federal vehicles near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. Some troopers were armed with additional clubs, rifles, and shielded helmets. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Broadview police hold back protesters from stopping vehicles at Harvard Street and 25th Avenue near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A protester recovers after being sprayed in the face by a federal agent along the fence on Sept. 28, 2025, at the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People pray on Sept. 28, 2025, near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents stand inside the fence on Sept. 28, 2025, at the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents escort a detainee into the facility on Sept. 28, 2025, at the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters rally on Sept. 28, 2025, near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A protester wipes his eyes after being sprayed by a federal agent through a fence at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino leads detainees into the ICE facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A protester yells at a federal agent attempting to enter the ICE facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A protester gets treated after being sprayed by a federal agent through a fence at the ICE facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A detainee is unloaded from a vehicle before being brought into the ICE facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
Logan Woodrum, of Pontiac, protests from the top of his car outside of the ICE facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A protester and veteran who served in Iraq flies the American flag upside down during a protest at the ICE facility in Broadview on Sept. 27, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
A demonstrator adjusts a flag draped over her back depicting a combined U.S. and Mexico flag while standing outside a fenced-in ICE facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A protester is detained by ICE agents outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters clash with federal agents outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters clash with ICE agents outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters clash with ICE agents outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
ICE agents move back into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility while facing off with protesters in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents escort a vehicle from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fires rounds at protesters on 25th Avenue near the holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters flinch as ICE agents fire rounds at them in traffic on 25th Avenue near the holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
An ICE agent chases a protester into residential yard near the ICE holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
ICE agents help an injured colleague after chasing a protester through traffic on 25th Avenue and into a residential yard near the ICE holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents help an injured colleague after chasing a protester through traffic on 25th Avenue and into a residential yard near the ICE holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
A federal agent points his rifle of pepper balls at a protester near Harvard Street and 25th Avenue a block from the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters chant as they walk across Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement holding facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A protester holds a sign as federal agents move toward demonstrators near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents fire baton rounds at demonstrators near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A protester runs away from federal agents firing chemical gas at him along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Baton rounds fired toward protesters outside the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview are seen Sept. 26, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A protester covers his face as chemical gas surrounds him along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents move toward protesters at 25th Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Levi Rolles is seen with several bruises from baton shots outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters surround the SUV of a federal agent and try and prevent him from driving down Harvard Street to the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. Protesters and federal agents faced off throughout the morning. Federal agents used several kinds of chemical gas, baton rounds, and arrested at least two people while protesters refused to clear the street. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
People pray outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A federal agent points his rifle full of pepper balls at protesters along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A protester holds up her phone and backs away from federal agents shooting chemical gas at protesters along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. Federal agents used several kinds of chemical gas, baton rounds and arrested at least two people after protesters refused to clear the street. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents surround and arrest two protesters along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters lock arms and block Harvard Street while federal agents stand guard at a gate leading to the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. Protesters and federal agents faced off throughout the morning. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Protesters gather outside the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Sept. 26, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Broadview police officers move protesters as they try and clear a path for federal agents to exit Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A protester holds up a sign in the early hours of the morning before the start of confrontations with federal agents along Harvard Street near the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Curtis Evans, of Evanston, carries a U.S. flag through gas deployed by federal officers as they clear protesters from the entrance of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Sept. 19, 2025. Evans said he was a Marine during President Ronald Reagan’s term. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A chemical agent canister sits on the ground after being used on protesters outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Sept. 19, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
A protester is shot with a pepper ball outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Sept. 19, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Federal law enforcement officers detain a protester outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Sept. 19, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
A protester who was shot with pepper balls while blocking a federal law enforcement vehicle leans against a fence outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Sept. 19, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents stand on the roof of the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and watch protesters below on Sept. 19, 2025, in Broadview. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal officers clear protesters from the entrance of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, Sept. 19, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents attempt to clear protesters from the street to make way for vehicles and officers to enter an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, Sept. 12, 2025, in Broadview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
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Illinois State Police troopers attempt to detain a protester outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 17, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Confrontations between federal agents and people protesting “Operation Midway Blitz” have put the tiny suburb, and the first Black woman to lead it, in the national spotlight.
Bowing to a court-ordered deadline, crews tore down the controversial security fence outside the facility on Oct. 14. Federal officials erected the 8-foot-high fence three weeks earlier . In turn, Broadview officials immediately pushed back, saying it was “illegally built,” and demanded that the Department of Homeland Security take it down.
“It has really become a prison,” U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said. “The conditions would be found unconstitutional even in the context of prisons holding convicted felons, but these are not convicted felons. These are civil detainees.”
Chicago takes action
Informational booklets and whistles in bags are passed out by Erin Tobes, left, and Audra Wunder, outside Chappell Elementary School in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2025, following a tip of possible ICE agents returning to the neighborhood. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Evelyn Medina, owner of Espacio 3628, holds a whistle in a bag outside her business in Logan Square on Oct. 7, 2025. Medina passes out whistles, N95 masks and “Know Your Rights” cards outside her business, which is next to Funston Elementary School. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Evelyn Medina stands outside her business, Espacio 3628, passing out whistles, N95 masks and “Know Your Rights” cards when school is dismissed at nearby Funston Elementary, Oct. 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Baltazar Enríquez, center, president of the Little Village Community Council, hands out whistles for attendees to use if they see ICE agents during the Pilsen Mexican Independence Day Parade on Sept. 6, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson greets residents while distributing “no trespassing” signs at Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s 25th Ward office on Oct. 11, 2025, in Chicago. The signs inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents they are not welcome or allowed on their property. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Area residents stand in line to receive “no trespassing” signs at Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s 25th Ward office on Oct. 11, 2025, in Chicago. The signs inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents they are not welcome or allowed on their property. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Ismael Cordová-Clough sits in his car at Clock Tower Plaza at 4:55 am and sifts through messages from residents about potential ICE activity in Elgin on Sept. 19, 2025. From the messages he receives, he and a team of patrollers head to a location to verify it, sometimes following suspicious vehicles and thwarting the efforts of ICE agents to detain people. They often shout or use their horns, whistles and bullhorns to alert people in the area to stay inside. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Whistles and information are available for customers at Vanessa Aguirre-Ávalos’ Luna y Cielo Play Cafe in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Informational booklets and whistles are handed out outside Chappell Elementary School in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2025, following a tip of possible ICE agents returning to the neighborhood. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Informational booklets and whistles in bags are passed out by CPS special education teacher Alese Affatato, as dozens of parents, residents and school staff form a protective perimeter to keep a watch for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside Chappell Elementary School in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33rd, keeps watch for ICE outside Carl Von Linné School in the Avondale neighborhood during dismissal with community members on Oct. 8, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Community organizer Nino Brown holds a stack of “no trespassing” signs to distribute at Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s 25th Ward office on Oct. 11, 2025, in Chicago. The signs inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents they are not welcome or allowed on their property. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Vanessa Aguirre-Ávalos, owner of Luna y Cielo Play Café in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, pictured on Oct. 16, 2025, provides whistles and information to customers for use to protect the community against ICE. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd, speaks at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights headquarters in the Loop on Sept. 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
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Informational booklets and whistles in bags are passed out by Erin Tobes, left, and Audra Wunder, outside Chappell Elementary School in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2025, following a tip of possible ICE agents returning to the neighborhood. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol agents detain painter Krzysztof Klim while verifying his identification on Oct. 31, 2025, next to Halloween decorations outside a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. Klim, originally from Poland and now a U.S. citizen, was briefly detained and then released. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol officers detain a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the community yell at U.S. Border Patrol officers while they detain a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol officers detain a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino makes small talk with a concrete worker after his agents questioned the man for his citizenship documents, Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the community film Border Patrol officers while they detain a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol officers stand in the street while detaining a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
A Chicago Police officer stops people from walking in the street after Border Patrol officers detained a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the community film Border Patrol officers while they detain a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 21, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the community yell at Border Patrol officers after they detained a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
A Chicago Police officer tries to clear people from walking in the street after Border Patrol officers detained a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the community film Border Patrol officers while they detain a person in the Albany Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a man they found in an H Mart parking lot in Niles on Oct. 31, 2025, during immigration enforcement operations. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents transfer a man they took from an H-Mart parking lot into a van in a Niles on Oct. 31, 2025, during immigration enforcement operations. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A landscaper is detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents during immigration enforcement operations on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol agents question painter Krzysztof Klim for his identification on Oct. 31, 2025, next to Halloween decorations outside a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. Klim, originally from Poland and now a U.S. citizen, was briefly detained in handcuffs and then released. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents question and detain a man they found painting a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, during immigration enforcement operations. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A neighbor yells as U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a man they found painting a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, during immigration enforcement operations. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol officers transfer a person to a van after he was detained while conducting immigration enforcement actions in the area on Oct. 31, 2025, in Niles. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Border Patrol officers question a man about his immigration status while conducting immigration enforcement actions in the Edison Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents watch the street while others question and detain a man they found painting a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, during immigration enforcement operations. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents transfer detainees into a van in a Niles parking lot after taking them from job sites in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, during immigration enforcement operations. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Neighbor Charity Hines yells as U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a man they found painting a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, during immigration enforcement operations. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol agents leave after detaining a man working near Frederick Stock Public School during immigration enforcement operations on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
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Border Patrol agents detain painter Krzysztof Klim while verifying his identification on Oct. 31, 2025, next to Halloween decorations outside a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. Klim, originally from Poland and now a U.S. citizen, was briefly detained and then released. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
In Albany Park, they fired pepper-spray balls to disperse an angry crowd and arrested two U.S. citizens. In Evanston, one repeatedly pointed his weapon at protesters while another knelt on a man’s back and punched him in the head.
They grabbed workers at an apartment complex in Hoffman Estates, landscapers, house painters and laborers in Edison Park, Skokie and Niles.
Despite pleas from Gov. JB Pritzker to pause federal immigration enforcement operations while children celebrate Halloween, teams of Border Patrol agents — including one led by Cmdr. Greg Bovino — tore through Chicago’s Northwest Side and nearby suburbs, sparking violent clashes with community members throughout the day.
Could the National Guard be next?
Texas National Guard members walk outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
National Guard members walk around outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Texas National Guard members arrive Oct. 7, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard carry luggage after arriving Oct. 7, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard arrive Oct. 7, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard arrive Oct. 7, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, Oct. 8, 2025,. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard carry shields while running run drills on Oct. 8, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard stand at an entrance Oct. 8, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard arrive Oct. 7, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, a far southwest suburb of Chicago, on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Erin Gallagher, from Will County, protests the arrival of members of the Texas National Guard on Oct. 7. 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elmwood, Oct. 7. 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble in Elwood at the Army Reserve Training Center in the southwest suburb of Chicago on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, a far southwest suburb of Chicago, on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, a far southwest suburb of Chicago, on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble in Elwood at the Army Reserve Training Center in the southwest suburb of Chicago on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, a far southwest suburb on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, a far southwest suburb of Chicago, on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood on Oct. 7, 2025, southwest of Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood, a far southwest suburb of Chicago, on Oct. 7, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Members of the Texas National Guard assemble at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood on Oct. 7, 2025, southwest of Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
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Texas National Guard members walk outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 9, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly called out the Trump administration for defending its decision to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago as necessary to fight violent crime in the city, even though the federal government has emphasized in court and Pentagon memos that the mission is mainly to protect federal immigration enforcement agents and federal property.
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Pritzker on Oct. 13 said President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s ultimate goal is to bring in the National Guard to cities like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, to militarize the country’s Democratic-controlled enclaves as a form of political payback.
“They just want troops on the ground because they want to militarize, especially blue cities and blue states,” he said.
Trump has discussed the potential of invoking the two-century-old Insurrection Act as a way to get around judicial orders blocking guard deployment. The Insurrection Act is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act and would allow the U.S. military to be actively involved in law enforcement to put down a “rebellion” or when enforcing federal law becomes “impractical.”
Federal agents released preschool teacher Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano on Wednesday night, freeing the beloved local educator whose arrest at a North Center day care made international news.
Diana Santillana Galeano, who was detained by federal agents at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center on the North Side of Chicago. (Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym., Ltd.)
Santillana will return to Rayito De Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center on Friday morning, where members of the community have rallied to show her support
“I am so grateful to everyone who has advocated on my behalf, and on behalf of the countless others who have experienced similar trauma over recent months in the Chicago area,” Santillana Galeano said in a statement released by her lawyers. “I love our community and the children I teach, and I can’t wait to see them again.”
Santillana’s case has generated widespread backlash. In a video circulated online, federal agents are seen pulling the screaming woman, a mother of two from Colombia, through the glass vestibule at the Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in North Center, in the early morning hours of Nov. 5.
School officials said Santillana, who cares for infants, had authorization to work in the day care and had undergone a background check. An agent did not present a warrant when he entered the building, the school’s staff said.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted her in a traffic stop as she and an unidentified male passenger were driving early Wednesday.
It said she illegally entered the U.S. on June 26, 2023, and “was encountered by Border Patrol,” and that “the Biden administration released her into the U.S.”
Illinois VGT businessman Rick Heidner is running for governor
Heidner has supported Democrats and Republicans, but will run as a Republican
Gov. JB Pritzker is the early 2026 front-runner
One of Illinois’ most successful businessmen, whose wide-ranging interests include a major stake in the state’s slot-like video gaming terminals (VGT) industry, is seeking to replace one of the state’s wealthiest citizens as the top lawmaker in the Land of Lincoln.
Illinois businessman Rick Heidner is seeking to run on the Republican ticket to oust JB Pritzker as governor. Much of Heidner’s wealth stems from his video gaming terminal business, Gold Rush Gaming. (Image: Rick for Illinois)
Illinois is one of only 13 states without term limits on governors. Gov. JB Pritzker (D), whose mass wealth stems from his family’s ownership of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, plans to seek a third term in 2026.
Pritzker, worth an estimated $4 billion, will eagerly await his opponent as the Republican Primary plays out. The latest to throw his name in the GOP gubernatorial pool is Rick Heidner, 65, whose business empire includes Gold Rush Gaming.
Founded in 2012, Gold Rush Gaming operates over 700 VGT locations in Illinois, distributing thousands of the slot-like gaming terminals. The VGT host businesses include liquor stores, truck stops and gas stations, hotels, restaurants and bars, and fraternal organizations.
In a D-I Statement of Organization filing made public this week by the Illinois State Board of Elections, Heidner registered a new political action committee to support his candidacy to become governor.
Gaming Magnate Has Various Businesses
Heidner’s Gold Rush is the third-largest VGT operator in Illinois. As of September, the Illinois Gaming Board said there were 8,758 VGT establishments with a combined 49,552 machines. Accel Entertainment is by far the largest VGT firm in Illinois, with 2,775 locations.
Along with Gold Rush, Heidner’s business conglomerate entails managing over 280 commercial properties in the US. He also owns Prairie State Energy and Ricky Rockets Fuel Centers.
Heidner’s betting big that his next venture will be in an elected position. His state campaign filing for “Rick for Illinois” shows the committee was formed with a $1 million contribution from Heidner. He lists his occupation as “real estate developer – entrepreneur.”
Heidner hasn’t yet responded to numerous media inquiries for comment.
In the past, Heidner has given money to both Democrats and Republicans. He contributed to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2023 election and the Democratic campaigns for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
Heidner also supported Republican Richard Irvin’s failed 2022 gubernatorial bid. Irvin was the mayor of Aurora from 2017 through May 2025.
GOP Faces Long Odds in Illinois
Pritzker is expected to run unchallenged on the Democratic ticket. Along with Heidner, the 2026 Illinois Republican Primary pool includes declared candidates Darren Bailey, a former state senator, and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick.
Whomever is the GOP nominee will face long odds of upsetting the incumbent. Since 2003, Republicans have occupied the governor’s office for just four years (Gov. Bruce Rauner, January 2015 – January 2019).
Illinois hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988.
Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a proclamation on Sunday, declaring Oct. 19 as Love Your Lungs Day. The proclamation highlights the importance of lung health while sharing CHEST’s mission focusing on advocacy, health education and innovation.
CHEST President Dr. John Howington spoke with ABC7 about the importance of this annual conference.
“Well first, I recognize that Chicago has declared today Love Your Lungs Day to raise awareness about lung health. Lung cancer is a number one cancer killer in men and women and COPD is the number three cause of death in the U.S., so people need to be aware of our lung health and focus on that focus on taking care of your lungs, not smoking, avoiding pollution, exercising,” Howington said.
In a statement, Johnson said, “By shining a spotlight on respiratory health, Chicago stands alongside CHEST and raising awareness, promoting equity and supporting healthcare providers and their patients.”
A protest outside Broadview Detention Center. Photo: Dave Decker/ZUMA Press
On Tuesday afternoon, Pauly stood at the corner of 105th and Avenue N next to the La Flor corner store, examining three metal containers he picked up off his street: a tear-gas canister, a smoke-grenade can, and a pepper-ball projectile round. The Feds had been here.
That morning, a car chase ended in Pauly’s neighborhood, on the East Side of Chicago, a working-class Latino and Black community. Federal agents had been pursuing a car they say was driven by an undocumented immigrant and then allegedly rammed that car intentionally.
As they pursued the occupants on foot, residents like Pauly came out to check on the commotion, and more federal agents arrived. Later, the crowd turned into a kind of protest. It was, by this point, a common scene in Chicago: masked neighbors waving Mexican flags and FUCK ICE banners, lawyers documenting arrests on steno pads with clergy, neighborhood moms, and teenagers, all standing side-by-side. Pauly was cloaked in all black, revealing only his eyes. Federal agents threw smoke grenades, shot pepper balls, and deployed at least three rounds of tear gas against the throng over the next few hours.
For the past five weeks, in response to the Trump administration immigration crackdown known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” neighborhoods have mobilized in experimental and collective ways. In their free time, or, in some cases, by actively taking time off work, everyday Chicagoans are building rapid-response teams to keep eyes on the streets and follow the movements of federal agents. Some pass out whistles in bars and laundromats; others keep vigil outside Home Depots and taquerías. Activists have begun locating agents’ suburban hotels and hosting noisy protests outside. Some take shifts patrolling their neighborhoods on foot, in cars, and on bikes to alert neighbors to the presence of federal agents and to document their aggressive tactics and arrests. For a week, I followed around a number of these civilians turned frontliners.
A protester after being shot by pepper balls. Photo: Dave Decker/ZUMA Press
It is a resistance that extends to the highest offices in the city.“You are not welcome here,” Olga Bautista, vice-president of the Chicago Board of Education, said in a statement directed at ICE agents. J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, has called the siege a “manufactured performance.” In recent weeks, Mayor Brandon Johnson created “ICE Free Zones,” barring federal agents from using city property as staging grounds for immigration enforcement. Chicago is a sanctuary city, which prevents the denial of city services based on immigration status and limits city-government cooperation with federal agents. “We cannot allow them to rampage through our city without checks and balances,” said Johnson at the signing of the executive order. “If Congress will not check this administration, then Chicago will.” President Donald Trump has since threatened to arrest Pritzker and Johnson. He has also attempted a takeover of the Illinois National Guard, though a court blocked it from being deployed in Chicago.
After the car chase, Pauly, who has asked to be referred to by a pseudonym, pursued federal agents’ cars on foot all the way to the Indiana state line a few miles away. “I told them to get the fuck out of my neighborhood,” he says. “They’re tyrants; they don’t respect the law.” He threw up from the tear gas, a feeling he’s now used to after attending weekly pickets at the Broadview Detention and Processing Center; these began in response to its inhumane conditions, the aggressive tactics used by federal agents, and the surge of immigration enforcement. A U.S. district judge recently required federal agents to wear badges and body cameras and banned them from using riot-control techniques, such as tear gas, without warning. The way Pauly sees it, no one is going to protect your community, or your block, like you. He is part of his neighborhood’s patrol. “Nobody else is going to do it,” he says. “On this road, you’re not going to get nowhere if you’re a coward, man.”
On Sunday, Jose, a 60-year-old volunteer, stood alert in a cherry-red tracksuit and a Bulls cap outside of a Home Depot near the North Side. He positions himself most mornings at dawn, before his own workday begins, at the hiring corner as part of the Latino Union of Chicago’s “Adopt a Day Labor Corner.” The program was inspired by similar efforts in California to shield immigrant workers from rising harassment by ICE at their workplaces. “At first, it was hard for them to understand why we were doing it,” he says of the workers. “They would be like, ‘Why are you here? Don’t you have a job?’” he says.
Outside of Home Depot watch, Jose, who asked to use a pseudonym, also takes shifts driving in a clandestine rapid-response group through which Chicagoans work to identify, follow, and document federal agents. These extra sets of eyes are essential to alert the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights’ Family Support Network, which tracks and verifies immigration raids, alerts surrounding community members, and connects detained immigrants and their families to services. Rapid-response work, though, is increasingly risky. There have been reports of people being arrested or assaulted while tracking agents. DHS, meanwhile, alleges that rapid-response-gropu members, along with other protesters, have assaulted officers by “ramming” federal law enforcement vehicles with their cars and throwing objects at agents.
Behind Jose, a small group of day laborers wait for jobs. Some lean against a fence, others scroll on phones. “My dad did this kind of work,” Jose says. “He used to come home without pay. Employers told him, ‘Complain, and we’ll call immigration.’” Fear is high, and work is scarce, but Jose offers more than a watchful eye; his presence is a quiet form of protection. “They know that we’re not going to be able to stop an abduction,” says Jose, “but at least they’re not going to disappear and nobody else will know what happened to them.”
Even as raids have picked up, day laborers can’t afford to stay away for long. After a recent raid, Jose“gave the guys $10 and said, ‘Go to a restaurant; get yourself a cup of coffee.’” But a few hours later, he saw the same group of day laborers back on the corner. “People don’t really understand that these guys often can’t miss a day’s work.”
Later, while sitting in my car at another Home Depot on the other side of town, I watch day laborers scatter as federal agents swarm the scene. They do not ask the day laborers to identify themselves; their approach is to detain and ask questions later. The laborers flee into eight lanes of oncoming traffic, hoping to lose the federal agents running after them. One of Jose’s fellow volunteers runs after them on foot. Cars at the intersection immediately stop and honk horns or blow whistles; it’s unclear if they’re responders or just regular people, witnessing the chase.
The next night, in the restaurant Pozoleria El Mexicano, Renee Jackson leads a packed house in assembling whistle kits as part of an event series called Whistlemania. The kits contain a whistle, a “Know Your Rights” guide, and a zine on how to use whistles to alert neighbors to immigration raids when federal agents are close.
The events were started by the neighborhood group Belmont Cragin United, but Jackson isn’t an organizer or part of any official group. Instead, she sees herself simply as a concerned Chicagoan who believes in solidarity. Earlier this year, she remembers watching the news and seeing a migrant worker running through a field away from immigration officers. Jackson, who is Black, says she “thought about my own family members from Abbeville, Louisiana, who may have run from an overseer without being paid for their labor.” She started donating money in her parents’ name immediately and, several weeks ago, started showing up to Whistlemania events; she’s now leading some of them.
Across town, other forms of quieter action happen every day. Manny Mendoza, a local chef and organizer, started Pueblo Eats, which prepares ready-to-eat meals for vulnerable neighbors. Sin Titulo, an apparel-and-events brand, has built up a robust volunteer network of more than 200 people to deliver groceries to nearly 1,000 families. (It was inspired by the founders’ loved one: “She asked us to deliver her a pizza. She didn’t even like pizza, and that’s when we knew that we needed to cover groceries for individuals and deliver them, because people are afraid right now.”) The Street Vendors Association of Chicago has raised more than $200,000 so vendors can afford to stay home.
Tara Woods attended her first whistle-packing event at Whistlemania on Tuesday night.Shehas noticed some of her child’s friends are no longer coming to day care, and some local businesses have started to close. “People may have voted a certain way, thinking they are not going to be affected. I wish people knew that is not true, whether you are a citizen or not,” she says. “Oh, this won’t come back to me — you’re wrong. You think this won’t come to your city. It will.”
The Chicago Bears embarked on a new era in February 2023 with the purchase of a site in Arlington Heights where the team hopes to build a new enclosed stadium with a massive entertainment and residential development.
State Sen. Kam Buckner listens as the Bears announce their plans to build a new domed stadium April 24, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
One of the Illinois legislature’s biggest opponents of the Bears’ plan to relocate outside the city introduced legislation on Oct. 14, 2025, that could stall or hinder the team’s efforts, but significant questions remain about whether the bill will garner enough support or when it might be voted on.
The legislation from state Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago — a former University of Illinois football player who represents the district where Soldier Field is located — calls for greater transparency around stadium deals in Illinois and could require the team to dig deeper into its pockets. It remains silent, however, about major financial issues, including whether the franchise would have to pay off outstanding debt for the 2003 Soldier Field renovation, a point some opponents of the team’s move have said is a bare minimum for their support. In an interview with the Tribune at the state Capitol after introducing the legislation, Buckner said the bill was a starting point.
The latest development
The Bears released an economic impact report that included architectural renderings of the proposed stadium in Arlington Heights on Sept. 30, 2025. (MANICA Architecture)
Infrastructure such as entrance and exit ramps from near Route 53 and changes to the adjacent Metra train line would cost $855 million in public funds, the team’s consultant estimated in its report. The report attempts to assuage concerns about the price tag by pointing to gross state tax revenues of almost $1.3 billion over 40 years, according to projections from HR&A Advisors, Inc.
Kevin Warren all but shuts the door on the Bears staying in Chicago
Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren looks around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London before the start of a game between the Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 13, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“Moving outside of the city of Chicago is not a decision we reached easily,” Warren said. “This project does not represent us leaving, it represents us expanding. The Bears draw fans from all over Illinois, and over 50 percent of our season-ticket holders live within 25 miles of the Arlington Heights site.”
Warren made it clear the team is committed to building a stadium, saying “this is the year” to finalize plans so the team could bid to host a Super Bowl “as soon as 2031.” He said the stadium would “require zero state money for construction,” but the team would need the legislature to pass a bill in October to start construction this year.
Arlington Park’s rebirth
The former Arlington International Racecourse is seen at sunrise on May 23, 2025, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A Chicago Bears digital billboard glows at sunrise just off of Route 53 at the former Arlington International Racecourse on May 23, 2025, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Rows of trees on the southern edge of the former Arlington International Racecourse are lit by the sunrise on May 23, 2025, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
The former paddock is marked by a circle and cross at the former Arlington International Racecourse on May 23, 2025, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
The former Arlington International Racecourse, facing east at sunrise, on May 23, 2025, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
An aerial photo shows the former Arlington International Racecourse on March 12, 2024, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
The former Arlington International Racecourse is seen on May 19, 2025, in Arlington Heights. The Chicago Bears own the property and may build a new stadium and entertainment district there. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
The view from the neighborhood northeast of the former Arlington International Racecourse on Dec. 30, 2024, in Arlington Heights. The Chicago Bears own the property and could potentially build a stadium there. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A digital billboard advertising the Chicago Bears sits near the practice track of the former Arlington International Racecourse near Route 53 and Northwest Highway on June 25, 2024, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
The former Arlington International Racecourse is seen on March 12, 2024, in Arlington Heights. The Bears purchased the Arlington Heights property last year. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
The grandstand at the former Arlington International Racecourse is dismantled on Sept. 25, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
The shell of the grandstand remains at the former Arlington International Racecourse as crews continue to demolish it on Aug. 31, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Riders wait for a Metra train at the station in downtown Arlington Heights on Sept. 29, 2021.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
People wait for a Metra train in downtown Arlington Heights on Sept. 29, 2021.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Downtown Arlington Heights features a small park, condos, retail shopping and dining on Sept. 29, 2021.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
People walk through the intersection of Vail Avenue and Campbell Street in downtown Arlington Heights on Oct. 14, 2021.
Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune
Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights is seen on May 1, 2023.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Workers gather in a parking lot outside of the former Arlington Park to begin demolition on May 30, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Demolition continues on the grandstand at the former Arlington International Racecourse on July 11, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
The grandstand of the former Arlington International Racecourse is razed on Sept. 25, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
Selso Nuñez, of Palatine, dressed in Bears garb, peeks over the gate of Arlington International Racecourse as he looks for a spot to watch the fireworks following a day of races on Sept. 25, 2021.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
The former Arlington International Racecourse is shown behind the Arlington Park Metra train station on Oct. 28, 2021.
After buying the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights in 2023, the Chicago Bears proposed building a $2 billion stadium there as part of a 326-acre development including entertainment and residential uses. (Chicago Bears)
Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune
Clouds pass over the now-closed Arlington International Racecourse on Sept. 6, 2022, in Arlington Heights.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A rendering of the plan is shown as representatives from the Chicago Bears present their concept for building a new stadium and entertainment district on the site of Arlington International Racecourse during a public meeting at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights on Sept. 8, 2022.
Hart Howerton/Chicago Bears
A rendering released by the Chicago Bears shows the view from the proposed stadium of the Arlington Park entertainment district.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
The synthetic racing surface is being removed from the track at the Arlington Park International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights on Feb. 8, 2023.
Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune
The Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights is seen on May 1, 2023.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Construction equipment stands ready for expected demolition at the former Arlington International Racecourse at sunrise on May 30, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Demolition continues on the grounds of the former Arlington International Racecourse on June 13, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Demolition crews hired by the Chicago Bears begin knocking down the grandstand at the former Arlington International Racecourse on June 16, 2023, in Arlington Heights. The Bears are looking at the site to build a possible new stadium for the team.
Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune
Demolition continues of the main grandstand at the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights on Aug. 1, 2023.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Demolition of the grandstand continues at the former Arlington International Racecourse, Aug. 7, 2023.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Demolition of the grandstand continues at the former Arlington International Racecourse, Aug. 7, 2023.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
Demolition continues on the grandstand and surrounding structures at the former Arlington International Racecourse, Sept. 25, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
Arlington International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights is seen on Feb. 8, 2023.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
A Metra train passes the former Arlington International Racecourse at sunrise on May 30, 2023, in Arlington Heights.
Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune
Arlington Park International Racecourse in Arlington Heights is seen on Sept. 29, 2021. The Chicago Bears have signed a purchase agreement for Arlington International Racecourse, the near-century-old facility that likely hosted its final horse race last Saturday.
Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune
Arlington Park International Racecourse is seen on Oct. 6, 2021, in Arlington Heights. The Chicago Bears have signed a purchase agreement for Arlington International Racecourse, the near-century-old facility that likely hosted its final horse race.
E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
A view of the former grandstand of Arlington Park International Racecourse property in Arlington Heights is seen on Feb. 8, 2023.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
The former Arlington International Racecourse is seen at sunrise on May 30, 2023, in Arlington Heights. Demolition is expected to begin soon.
Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune
Crews demolish the main grandstand of the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights, July 14, 2023. The site may become the future home of the Chicago Bears.
Trent Sprague/Chicago Tribune
Main grandstand demolition continues at the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights, Aug. 1, 2023.
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The former Arlington International Racecourse is seen at sunrise on May 23, 2025, in Arlington Heights. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
One week before his inauguration as the new mayor of Arlington Heights, Jim Tinaglia walked through the downtown streets he’s called home for more than 50 years. What was once a “sleepy little town,” as he described it, has become a bustling community, a place Tinaglia has had a hand in building, himself, through his work as an architect.
He’d built “at least a dozen” places here over the past 35 years.
If there’d been a constant amid all the growth in one of Chicago’s largest suburbs it was probably the horse racing track a little ways northwest of downtown, the one now locked away and waiting for new life. For decades, Arlington Park had been a deeply-ingrained part of the culture here, and a source of pride.
Incoming mayor Jim Tinaglia in downtown Arlington Heights on April 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
“Our identity,” Tinaglia said of the track. “For 100 years.”
Now it will be his mission to lead Arlington Park’s rebirth — to complete the long, winding journey of bringing the Bears to Arlington Heights. It’s a large part of why he ran for mayor, and also why he believes he was elected: to finish a deal that has proven elusive since a rush of early momentum, and to help convince Bears leadership, once and for all, that they should move from Chicago to the northwest suburbs.
A domed stadium on the Chicago lakefront?
An artist’s rendering of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront was released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
A rendering shows a new enclosed stadium plan with open space access to the lakefront. (Manica)
Renderings of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront were released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
An artist’s rendering that shows a plan for an enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront was released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
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An artist’s rendering of a new state-of-the-art enclosed stadium with open space access to the lakefront was released by the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2024. (Manica)
Unlike Soldier Field, it could hold events year-round, including concerts, soccer, college basketball playoffs, or, once in a great while, the Super Bowl.
Soldier Field would be torn down, but its colonnades would be saved and 14 acres of athletic fields and open space added in between and to the north of the colonnades, for use by local sports teams, graduations and other events. If approved this year, the stadium would open in 2028.
The Bears say they would pay $2 billion, a huge private investment, plus $300 million requested from the NFL. The rest of the $3.2 billion cost of the stadium alone would be paid with $900 million from the state. The team said another $325 million would be needed for infrastructure, including improved road access and utilities as part of up to $1.5 billion for full build-out with extras like a hotel.
The public money would be borrowed through bonds issued by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, or ISFA, which previously financed construction of Guaranteed Rate Field, where the White Sox play, and the 2003 renovation of Soldier Field. The bonds are to be repaid over 40 years by the city’s 2% hotel tax.
“I remain skeptical about this proposal, and I wonder whether it’s a good deal for the taxpayers,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “There are a lot of priorities that the state has, and I’m not sure that this is among the highest priorities for taxpayers.”
Friends of the Parks, a not-for-profit group that advocates for the city’s Lakefront Protection ordinance, which limits the lakefront to public use, criticized the stadium plan as rushed and not transparent, comparing it in a statement to other faltering mega-developments like The 78 and Lincoln Yards.
Could Indiana be an option?
The Indiana legislature moved a bill aimed at attracting the Bears to Northwest Indiana just yards from the end zone, with final approval by the Senate on April 9.
House Bill 1292, authored by Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, would establish a Northwest Indiana professional development commission and a professional sports development fund. The commission would be tasked with exploring and implementing strategies to attract one or more sports franchises to Northwest Indiana, Harris said.
The bill passed the Senate 46-2.
“The Bears are the big boy, so that has received the most attention,” Harris said. “Honestly, I would love it if the Bears moved their location over to Northwest Indiana, but we are open to any sport.”
What about another site in Chicago?
The former Michael Reese Hospital site, between a truck marshaling yard and Prairie Shores apartments on April 26, 2023. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The team is open to any alternative that would work, but officials have said previously that the former hospital site was unworkable because it’s next to Metra train tracks that pose a security risk. The 49-acre site is limited because it’s long and skinny, sandwiched between the tracks and DuSable Lake Shore Drive on the east, apartments on the west, 31st Street on the south and the Stevenson Expressway to the north.
The advantage of the site is that it’s mostly open land, not far from the Loop and the lake, and next to McCormick Place Convention Center. It would also avoid a legal fight over the Bears’ proposal to build a $3.2 billion roofed stadium on the lake to replace the team’s current home in Soldier Field.
Other options in Illinois
Other cities and municipalities around Illinois have previously expressed interest in talking to the Bears about a future stadium.
Naperville
Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli wants to develop underused properties along the Interstate 88 tollway, where the former BP Amoco site would be more than big enough at 187 acres.
Waukegan
Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor said several locations have the space for a stadium and entertainment area with access to Interstate 94, U.S. Route 41 and public transportation. The Bears already train in Lake Forest, nine miles south of Waukegan.
Aurora
In a letter from Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin to the Bears, he touts Aurora’s history, location and track record of getting developments done. The letter comes on the heels of President/CEO Kevin Warren saying recently that the Bears are “in a position to start exploring other places and opportunities and no longer considers Arlington Heights as a singular focus.”
Rockford
State Rep. Dave Vella, a Democrat from Rockford, told the Tribune he’d like his city to have a chance at bringing the Bears there. While acknowledging that Rockford is 90 miles from Chicago, he touted Rockford’s transportation development and how that could be used at Bears fans’ convenience.
Richton Park
Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold touted large expanses of available land and the south suburb’s proximity to highways and the Metra Electric Line: “Allow me to interest you in greenfield opportunities awaiting the Bears in Richton Park!”
Country Club Hills
Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon is encouraging the football team to consider Country Club Hills, throwing what her office described as a “Hail Mary pass” to encourage the team to consider the south suburb. “We’re taking our shot in the dark here,” Country Club Hills Mayor James Ford said.
What would happen to Soldier Field without the Bears?
Soldier Field on the lakefront on March 11, 2024. where the Bears have proposed building a new domed stadium. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Fans wait for the start of the Bears first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field on Sept. 17, 2018. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Fans walk outside the stadium before the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Oct. 17 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles fans arrive on Jan. 6, 2019, for an NFC wild card playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field and the south parking areas on Dec. 5, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles fans arrive on Jan. 6, 2019, for an NFC wild card playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field on Dec. 15, 2023. To optimize the conditions, ultraviolet lights have been part of the regular treatment plan at the stadium to lengthen the growing season. Grow covers plus the field’s heating system contribute to keep the lawn as healthy as possible. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles fans arrive Jan. 6, 2019 for an NFC wild card playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Michael Blackshire / Chicago Tribune
Bears quarterback Justin Fields runs in the end zone for a touchdown against the Lions at Soldier Field on Nov. 13, 2022.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Fans walk past a sign during the Bears NFL draft party at Soldier Field on April 29, 2022. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A parking lot and Waldron Deck south of Soldier Field on the lakefront on March 11, 2024, where the Bears have proposed building a new domed stadium. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The eastern colonnade of Soldier Field is illuminated with the Chicago Bears team colors, Jan. 8, 2021, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Jamari Clay escorts his sister Jaylen Clay to the Noble Charter School Network prom at Soldier Field on May 14, 2021. The students attend The Noble Academy. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Fans make their way into Soldier Field before the Chicago Fire play the FC Cincinnati on June 23, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field sits empty before the Chicago Fire play the FC Cincinnati on June 23, 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Fans walk through the concourse before the Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on Oct. 17 2021. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Military helicopters fly overhead during pregame ceremonies between the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens at Soldier Field on Nov. 21, 2021. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A worker walks past the west colonnade before a game between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on Jan. 8, 2023. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Players begin to warm up before a game between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on Jan. 8, 2023. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field and the Walter Payton statue on Dec. 18, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Gate 0 at the south entrance to Soldier Field on Dec. 19, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field on Dec. 18, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field and the Chicago skyline on Feb. 12, 2023. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Fans watch as players take the field before the Chicago Bears play the first quarter against the Houston Texans at Soldier Field on Sept. 25, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field and Museum Campus can be seen July 25, 2022, from the stadium in Chicago. In a news conference, Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled plans for Soldier Field that could cost up to $2.2 billion as part of her ongoing campaign to keep the Bears from leaving town for Arlington Heights. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)
Fans arrive for Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 22, 2023. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Soldier Field and the Chicago skyline on April 26, 2023. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The grounds crew preps the grass on Sept. 5, 2023, at Soldier Field before the Bears season begins against the Green Bay Packers. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Fans tailgate before the Chicago Bears play the Denver Broncos at Soldier Field on Oct. 1, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The Chicago Fire and Inter Miami face off in the first half of a game at Soldier Field in Chicago on Oct. 4, 2023. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Hailey Grabowski, right, poses for her mother, Anne Grabowski, outside of Soldier Field before the Chicago Bears game against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 15, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
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Soldier Field on the lakefront on March 11, 2024. where the Bears have proposed building a new domed stadium. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The divorce is far from a foregone conclusion — the Bears have simply taken the next step, one they’ve been telegraphing for over a year.
If the team leaves Soldier Field, Friends of the Parks Executive Director Juanita Irizarry said she hopes the stadium can host many more concerts each year, easing the increasingly controversial burden on neighborhood parks for big musical events such as Riot Fest in Douglass Park and the recently announced Re:SET festival in Riis Park.
Wrigley Field served as the original home venue for the team when it moved to Chicago in 1921 and remained there through 1970. The team won nearly 70% of its home games during that span.
But the Bears were forced to find a new home after the American Football League merged with the National Football League and required stadiums to seat at least 50,000 fans. The team played its last game at Wrigley Field on Dec. 13, 1970, beating the Packers 35-17.
Why Arlington Heights?
Arlington Park International Racecourse on Oct. 6, 2021, in Arlington Heights. The Chicago Bears have signed a purchase agreement for Arlington International Racecourse, the near-century-old facility that likely hosted its final horse race.
The league’s largest and most expensive arena and the site of the Super Bowl, SoFi, just outside Los Angeles, is overwhelming fans with its sweeping curves and epic scale. The stadium and its development highlight certain parallels to the Bears’ proposal to buy and redevelop Arlington International Racecourse. Both reflect desires to leave century-old stadiums and home cities for vast sites that allow for planned enclaves of surrounding restaurants, hotels, offices, stores and homes.
What are fans saying?
Fans settle into their seats prior to the start of a game between the Bears and Lions at Soldier Field on Oct. 3, 2021.
Some fans expressed a draft day-like optimism that better days are ahead. They dreamed openly of shorter concessions, easier parking, better tailgating opportunities and a domed stadium that protected them from biting winter winds.
“I’ve been to multiple stadiums in the NFL and Soldier Field does not compete with any of them,” Bears season ticket holder Neal Shah of Wheaton said. “On game days, the television crews show an aerial view of the stadium, which is beautiful, but the logistics are terrible.”
A protester is helped after inhaling tear gas outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the western suburbs of Chicago.
Xinhua/Sipa USA
Wednesday morning, Donald Trump escalated his war of words with Democratic officials in Illinois with a Truth Social post stating: “Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!”
There’s no evidence that either Mayor Brandon Johnson or Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has done anything but follow the law and exercise their constitutional rights in opposing Trump’s immigration offensive in Chicago which now includes Texas National Guard troops.
But there is a growing body of evidence that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are abusing their power so boldly that in a just world, they’d go to jail.
This morning, there is video of an ICE security officer shooting a peaceful protesting priest in the head with some kind of crowd control munition, possibly a pepper ball. News reports haven’t yet confirmed the events yet, but I have confirmed the video is of an ICE location in Illinois. In any case, the abusive act is akin to a host of events fueling growing outrage in the city.
On Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that a masked federal agent pointed his assault rifle at a neighborhood activist for merely recording his actions, something any American is allowed to do under well-established First Amendment law.
Those guns are going off as well. Last week, Border Patrol agents claimed they shot an unarmed woman after she rammed their car with hers, but her defense attorney says he will release body camera footage that shows the Border Patrol car veered into her.
Last month, ICE agents shot and killed a man they said had “seriously injured” injured another ICE officer, but now there is body cam footage of the officer saying his injuries were “nothing major.”
And the ICE raids in Illinois seem as if they are provoking the very warlike atmosphere that Trump has used to justify his National Guard deployment over the objections of Gov. Pritzker. In one case, hundreds of federal agents swarmed an apartment building, including rappelling from Black Hawk helicopters onto the roof to arrest dozens of residents without regard to whether they were U.S. citizens or not, and holding them zip-tied for hours before releasing them.
I have written that Trump was elected to take a tough stand on undocumented immigration. Arresting and deporting millions of people here illegally is well within his rights. Indeed, it his duty to protect the country, but that does not justify the wholesale abrogation of U.S. citizens’ rights.
Just as Trump has the right as president to order aggressive immigration enforcement, U.S. citizens have the right to sleep in their beds at night without fear of federal agents invading their apartment with no warrant and no justification just because they live near undocumented immigrants.
U.S. citizens have the right to protest and pray in opposition to Trump’s immigration crackdown, just as millions of U.S. citizens voted for Trump to undertake the effort.
Journalists and everyday Americans have a First Amendment right to document what is happening in their neighborhoods, without being threatened by deadly violence by masked men acting on the president’s orders.
What is happening in Illinois won’t stay in Illinois. Undocumented immigrants live all over the country, many in places that are not sanctuary cities that have invited Trump’s scrutiny.
If Trump is sincere about his plan to purge undocumented immigrants from the country and these are the tactics he intends to deploy to make that happen, then we can expect what is happening in the streets of Chicago and its suburbs to come to neighborhoods near our own.
Then Trump will have made all of America a war zone. He was not elected to do that.
A protester throws a canister of teargas back at Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the western suburbs of Chicago Sept. 26. Xinhua/Sipa USA
Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
David Mastio, a former deputy editorial page editor for the liberal USA TODAY and the conservative Washington Times, has worked in opinion journalism as a commentary editor, editorial writer and columnist for 30 years. He was also a speechwriter for the George W. Bush administration.
National Guard troops are positioned outside Chicago and could also be in Memphis by Friday, as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy — whether local leaders support it or not.Video above: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says Trump is “out of control”Troops’ presence at an Illinois Army Reserve center came despite a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from Democratic elected leaders. Their exact mission was not clear, but the Trump administration launched an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s third-largest city last month, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building in nearby Broadview.Trump has called Chicago a “hellhole” of crime despite police statistics showing significant drops in crime, including homicides.In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee has said troops will be deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service to “play a critical support role” for law enforcement, though that hasn’t been defined yet.Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said a small group of commanders was already in the city, planning for the arrival of Guard troops.Illinois and Chicago are urging a federal judge to stop “Trump’s long-declared ‘War’” on the state. A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday. An appeals court hearing over the government’s bid to deploy the Guard to Portland, Oregon, is also scheduled for Thursday. A judge there blocked those efforts over the weekend.Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has predicted that National Guard troops from the state would be activated, along with 400 from Texas. He has accused Trump of using troops as “political props” and “pawns,” and said he didn’t get a heads-up from Washington about their deployment.The Associated Press on Tuesday saw military personnel in uniforms with the Texas National Guard patch at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Trucks marked Emergency Disaster Services dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra fencing was spread across the perimeter.The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the Army Reserve Center for security reasons until Dec. 6, meaning the Guard could be there for two months.Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has barred federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement operations.The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to 10 cities, including Baltimore, the District of Columbia, New Orleans, and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.Most violent crime around the U.S. has declined in recent years, however. In Chicago, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, police data shows. Portland’s homicides from January through June decreased by 51% to 17 this year compared with the same period in 2024.In Portland, months of nightly protests at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility continued on Tuesday night. In June, police declared a riot, and there have been smaller clashes since then.Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she told Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem there’s “no insurrection” in the state.Noem said on Fox News that she told Portland Mayor Keith Wilson that DHS would “send four times the amount of federal officers” if the city did not boost security at the ICE building, get backup from local law enforcement and take other safety measures.Portland police Chief Bob Day said Tuesday that the department needs to work more closely with federal agents. Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Ed White in Detroit, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this story.
National Guard troops are positioned outside Chicago and could also be in Memphis by Friday, as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes ahead with an aggressive policy — whether local leaders support it or not.
Video above: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says Trump is “out of control”
Troops’ presence at an Illinois Army Reserve center came despite a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from Democratic elected leaders. Their exact mission was not clear, but the Trump administration launched an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the nation’s third-largest city last month, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building in nearby Broadview.
Trump has called Chicago a “hellhole” of crime despite police statistics showing significant drops in crime, including homicides.
In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee has said troops will be deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service to “play a critical support role” for law enforcement, though that hasn’t been defined yet.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said a small group of commanders was already in the city, planning for the arrival of Guard troops.
Illinois and Chicago are urging a federal judge to stop “Trump’s long-declared ‘War’” on the state. A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday. An appeals court hearing over the government’s bid to deploy the Guard to Portland, Oregon, is also scheduled for Thursday. A judge there blocked those efforts over the weekend.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has predicted that National Guard troops from the state would be activated, along with 400 from Texas. He has accused Trump of using troops as “political props” and “pawns,” and said he didn’t get a heads-up from Washington about their deployment.
The Associated Press on Tuesday saw military personnel in uniforms with the Texas National Guard patch at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Trucks marked Emergency Disaster Services dropped off portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra fencing was spread across the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight restrictions over the Army Reserve Center for security reasons until Dec. 6, meaning the Guard could be there for two months.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has barred federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for enforcement operations.
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Since starting his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to 10 cities, including Baltimore, the District of Columbia, New Orleans, and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Most violent crime around the U.S. has declined in recent years, however. In Chicago, homicides were down 31% to 278 through August, police data shows. Portland’s homicides from January through June decreased by 51% to 17 this year compared with the same period in 2024.
In Portland, months of nightly protests at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility continued on Tuesday night. In June, police declared a riot, and there have been smaller clashes since then.
Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she told Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem there’s “no insurrection” in the state.
Noem said on Fox News that she told Portland Mayor Keith Wilson that DHS would “send four times the amount of federal officers” if the city did not boost security at the ICE building, get backup from local law enforcement and take other safety measures.
Portland police Chief Bob Day said Tuesday that the department needs to work more closely with federal agents.
Fernando reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Ed White in Detroit, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this story.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, both Democrats, should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown in the nation’s third-largest city. The officials said they would not be deterred.The Republican president made the comment in a social media post, the latest example of his brazen calls for his opponents to be prosecuted or locked up — a break from longtime norms as the Justice Department traditionally has strived to maintain its independence from the White House.Trump wrote on Truth Social that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” It was a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.It was not immediately clear what Trump was objecting to.Johnson, in a post on X, said, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” Pritzker, also on X, said” I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?”White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, when asked what crimes the president believed Pritzker and Johnson had committed, failed to identify any, but she said they “have blood on their hands” and pointed to Chicago Police Department reports that at least five people were killed and 25 shot over the weekend.”Instead of taking action to stop the crime, these Trump-Deranged buffoons would rather allow the violence to continue and attack the President for wanting to help make their city safe again,” Jackson said.National Guard troops from Texas are positioned outside Chicago despite a lawsuit by the state and city to block the deployment.The troops’ mission is not clear but the Trump administration has undertaken an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago.Trump has called Chicago a “hell hole” of crime, even though police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides. Protesters have skirmished with agents outside a detention center in the village of Broadview, outside Chicago.A woman in Chicago was shot by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend after she and a man were accused of using their vehicles to strike and then box in the agent’s vehicle. The agent then exited his car and fired five shots at Marimar Martinez, 30.Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, 21, are charged with forcibly assaulting a federal officer and were ordered to be released Monday pending trial. Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, claimed body camera footage contradicts the federal government’s narrative of her actions.Trump’s comment came as former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a Virginia courtroom, pleading not guilty in a case that has intensified concerns about Justice Department’s efforts to target Trump adversaries.When Trump was campaigning for the White House in 2024 at a time he faced criminal and civil investigations, he told supporters, “I am your retribution.”The Justice Department has also opened criminal investigations this year against California Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for New York City mayor. The three, all Democrats, have all denied wrongdoing and say the investigations are politically motivated.Pritzker, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, has called the president a “wannabe dictator,” comparing his leadership to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin and joking that the Republican “doesn’t read” anything. The governor has suggested that Trump, who has threatened Chicago with apocalyptic force, suffers from dementia.Pritzker, eyed as a potential 2028 White House contender, has strongly fought against any federal intervention along with Johnson, saying it is not wanted or needed in Illinois or Chicago.”Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in August during a visit to a South Side neighborhood where a campaign videographer was also in tow. “He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems.”Pritzker alleges that Trump is trying to militarize cities to affect the outcome of the 2026 election by impeding voting efforts in Democratic strongholds like Chicago.The heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune is seeking a third term as governor next year and has sidestepped questions about higher ambitions. Pritzker was among the finalists considered as a running mate for Democratic Kamala Harris’ presidential run in 2024.Trump has often singled out Chicago and Illinois because they have some of the country’s strongest immigrant protections. Both are “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which limit cooperation between police and federal immigration agents.Johnson, a first-term mayor, has strengthened those protections even further with executive orders, including one that bars immigration agents from using city-owned land as staging areas for operations. He calls Trump’s actions unconstitutional.Johnson has accused Trump of waging a war on Chicago and having an “animus” toward women and people of color. Nearly one-third of Chicago’s 2.7 million are Black and roughly one-third are Hispanic.”He’s a monster,” Johnson told reporters in May. “Period.”___Tareen reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON —
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor, both Democrats, should be jailed as they oppose his deployment of National Guard troops for his immigration and crime crackdown in the nation’s third-largest city. The officials said they would not be deterred.
The Republican president made the comment in a social media post, the latest example of his brazen calls for his opponents to be prosecuted or locked up — a break from longtime norms as the Justice Department traditionally has strived to maintain its independence from the White House.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” It was a reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It was not immediately clear what Trump was objecting to.
Johnson, in a post on X, said, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” Pritzker, also on X, said” I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, when asked what crimes the president believed Pritzker and Johnson had committed, failed to identify any, but she said they “have blood on their hands” and pointed to Chicago Police Department reports that at least five people were killed and 25 shot over the weekend.
“Instead of taking action to stop the crime, these Trump-Deranged buffoons would rather allow the violence to continue and attack the President for wanting to help make their city safe again,” Jackson said.
National Guard troops from Texas are positioned outside Chicago despite a lawsuit by the state and city to block the deployment.
The troops’ mission is not clear but the Trump administration has undertaken an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago.
Trump has called Chicago a “hell hole” of crime, even though police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides. Protesters have skirmished with agents outside a detention center in the village of Broadview, outside Chicago.
A woman in Chicago was shot by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend after she and a man were accused of using their vehicles to strike and then box in the agent’s vehicle. The agent then exited his car and fired five shots at Marimar Martinez, 30.
Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, 21, are charged with forcibly assaulting a federal officer and were ordered to be released Monday pending trial. Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, claimed body camera footage contradicts the federal government’s narrative of her actions.
Trump’s comment came as former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a Virginia courtroom, pleading not guilty in a case that has intensified concerns about Justice Department’s efforts to target Trump adversaries.
When Trump was campaigning for the White House in 2024 at a time he faced criminal and civil investigations, he told supporters, “I am your retribution.”
The Justice Department has also opened criminal investigations this year against California Sen. Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for New York City mayor. The three, all Democrats, have all denied wrongdoing and say the investigations are politically motivated.
Pritzker, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, has called the president a “wannabe dictator,” comparing his leadership to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin and joking that the Republican “doesn’t read” anything. The governor has suggested that Trump, who has threatened Chicago with apocalyptic force, suffers from dementia.
Pritzker, eyed as a potential 2028 White House contender, has strongly fought against any federal intervention along with Johnson, saying it is not wanted or needed in Illinois or Chicago.
“Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in August during a visit to a South Side neighborhood where a campaign videographer was also in tow. “He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems.”
Pritzker alleges that Trump is trying to militarize cities to affect the outcome of the 2026 election by impeding voting efforts in Democratic strongholds like Chicago.
The heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune is seeking a third term as governor next year and has sidestepped questions about higher ambitions. Pritzker was among the finalists considered as a running mate for Democratic Kamala Harris’ presidential run in 2024.
Trump has often singled out Chicago and Illinois because they have some of the country’s strongest immigrant protections. Both are “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which limit cooperation between police and federal immigration agents.
Johnson, a first-term mayor, has strengthened those protections even further with executive orders, including one that bars immigration agents from using city-owned land as staging areas for operations. He calls Trump’s actions unconstitutional.
Johnson has accused Trump of waging a war on Chicago and having an “animus” toward women and people of color. Nearly one-third of Chicago’s 2.7 million are Black and roughly one-third are Hispanic.
“He’s a monster,” Johnson told reporters in May. “Period.”
___
Tareen reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, President Trump said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “should be in jail.”
“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Officers!” Mr. Trump posted. “Governor Pritzker also!”
Pritzker issued a statement on X in response to President Trump’s post.
“I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?” Pritzker wrote.
Pritzker continued in a thread of X posts: “His masked agents already are grabbing people off the street. Separating children from their parents. Creating fear. Taking people for ‘how they look.’ Making people feel they need to carry citizenship papers. Invading our state with military troops. Sending in war helicopters in the middle of the night. Arresting elected officials asking questions.”
Mayor Johnson also posted to X.
“This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested,” he wrote. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The order prohibits federal authorities from using city-owned or controlled parking lots, vacant lots and garages as staging areas, processing locations or operations bases for civil immigration enforcement activity.
Meanwhile, Pritzker has taken Mr. Trump to task repeatedly for his use of federal forces, and most recently for deploying National Guard troops to Illinois. The deployment comes amid clashes between demonstrators and federal agents outside an ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, where, within the past couple of weeks, over a dozen protesters were arrested.
On Tuesday night, Pritzker also denounced federal immigration enforcement in Chicago.
“It is striking fear in the hearts of everybody in Chicago, and we have residents — this isn’t just about undocumented people,” Pritzker said Tuesday night during a discussion in Minnesota with that state’s governor, Tim Walz. “U.S. citizens who are brown or Black are being stopped only for that reason, and asked for identification that proves they’re a U.S. citizen.”
Both governors said they believe the Trump administration is targeting blue states.
Pritzker is also calling for governors nationwide to denounce the National Guard deployments. In a statement on social media, he said Illinois could withdraw from the National Governors Association over the issue.
“If the National Governors Association chooses to remain silent, Illinois will have no choice but to withdraw from the organization,” Pritzker wrote. “We should be standing as one against the idea that Donald Trump can call up the National Guard against our will.”
The National Governors Association represents governors from all 50 states and across the political spectrum. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also made the same threat.
CBS News Chicago has reached out to both Mayor Johnson and Gov. Pritzker’s offices for further comment about Mr. Trump’s post.
Chicago is considering allowing slot-like video gaming terminals
VGTs could threaten the city’s casino contract with Bally’s
Chicago is facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit
Slot-like video gaming terminals (VGTs) are a step closer to being authorized in Chicago.
The entrance to the temporary Bally’s Chicago inside the Medinah Temple is seen. Chicago continues to mull the legalization of slot-like video gaming terminals, but VGTs could violate Bally’s agreement with the City of Chicago. (Image: X)
On Tuesday, the City of Chicago Committee on License and Consumer Protection voted 8-6 in favor of an ordinance that would allow certain businesses to pursue VGTs. Illinois’ VGT law allows businesses holding a valid liquor license to house between six and 10 gaming machines.
Small businesses can have up to six VGTs, while truck stops can have 10. All businesses must be at least 1,000 feet from a casino or racetrack.
Chicago has long banned VGTs, but with the Windy City continuing to face severe fiscal issues, including a budget deficit of $1.15 billion, some city lawmakers are motioning to legalize the gaming terminals.
Are we to just sit back and look down the barrel of a $1.5 billion deficit with nothing in sight, or are we to look for additional revenues that don’t affect everyone like property taxes, people driving down the street with tickets, being hit every other day?” asked Alderman Anthony Beale, who represents the 9th Ward. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported Ward’s comments.
“Are we going to turn a blind eye on $60 million to $100 million? Or are we going to be creative to do something a little different, something the city has never done before?” Beale questioned.
Mayor Opposition
A study commissioned by the city forecast that Chicago could receive more than $67.2 million annually from the legalization of VGTs. Illinois levies a 35% tax on VGT gross gaming revenue, with about one-sixth, or 5.8%, returned to the machine’s local government.
The VGT forecast doesn’t take into account any possible net loss in revenue to the city from other sources, mainly the Bally’s Casino. The temporary casino is operating at the Medinah Temple while the permanent $2 billion resort is being built at the former Freedom Center newspaper publishing plant.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was previously open to VGTs but now opposes their authorization, says the city doesn’t have a spending problem, though spending continues to increase with pension funding problems.
“We do not have a spending problem in Chicago. We have a revenue challenge in Chicago,” Johnson said this week.
Bally’s Contract
Bally’s was deemed the winner of Chicago’s downtown casino bidding in May 2022. The City Council picked Bally’s over pitches from Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming and Hard Rock International.
There are legal concerns that if Chicago authorizes VGTs, the city’s Host Community Agreement with Bally’s could be violated. The terms include assurances that the city won’t allow a second casino to open and won’t authorize any other “mode of lawful gaming” other than what is currently allowed.
Carl Gutierrez, vice president of government relations for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, said VGTs would be a “clear violation” of the Bally’s contract and would “send a message” that the City of Chicago “is not a reliable partner.”
CHICAGO (WLS) — Protesters demonstrated across the Chicago area Friday ahead of an expected surge in ICE operations this weekend.
Crews have put up fencing around Dirksen Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago. The expected increase in immigration enforcement could come as soon as Saturday.
Naval Station Great Lakes will serve as the logistical hub for some 300 federal agents each day carrying out operations in Chicago.
ABC7 saw no sign of ramped up activity Friday night at the Broadview ICE facility that’s expected to be used as a processing center, but that could soon change Saturday.
With the Trump administration providing few details about ICE operations that could begin this weekend, Illinois U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and Congressman Brad Schneider went to the Navy for answers.
“What we learned today was there are limitations to the relationship between the Department of Homeland Security and the Navy,” Durbin said.
Those elected officials cited the admiral-in-charge at Naval Station Great Lakes, where federal agents plan to stage, say ICE and DHS on August 14 requested office space and parking at the base, from September 5 to October 5. The Navy agreed, but will not provide barracks or housing and won’t allow federal agents to have lethal munitions on the base.
“The security of our nation depends on the mission of Naval Station Great Lakes, and we need to make sure that what DHS does… does not get in the way of that mission,” Rep. Schneider said.
Durbin, Duckworth, and Schneider say they tried to meet with DHS officials on the base to no avail.
“DHS refused to meet with us,” Duckworth said. “They actually gave everybody the day off, and they left the facility, and they locked the doors. This is not the action of somebody that is proud of what they’re doing.”
President Donald Trump is defending is the stepped-up enforcement plans.
“We know exactly who we’re looking for,” Trump said. “We had 11,000 murderers dropped in our country. We’ve gotten a lot of them out.”
Protesters descended on an ICE processing facility in Broadview Friday, demonstrating against the planned use of the location as the main processing hub for those detained by ICE as a part of their upcoming operation.
It was a small victory for protestors demonstrating outside the facility as they forced a vehicle trying to enter to leave by blocking the entrance to the Beach Street location and refused to move. With signs in hand and chanting, it’s just one-way supporters of immigrant rights rallied Friday morning to disrupt operations at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“When Donald Trump runs out of other people to blame, when our state our city, our federal government run out of non-white people non-privileged people to point the finger at, they will come for you as well,” protest organizer Rachel Cohen said.
Officials with the village, which is predominantly Black and Latino, boarded up the building’s windows in advance of Friday’s protest after federal authorities informed them the facility would serve as a primary processing location, open seven days a week for the next month-and-a-half.
Two transport vans were seen leaving the center before daybreak. Border czar Tom Homan says it’s a part of the president’s immigration enforcement crackdown.
“The president said weeks ago, I said weeks ago that with sanctuary cities, how are we going to address it?” border czar Tom Homan said. “We are going to flood the zone.”
Protesters said detainees being processed for transfer are usually held at the facility for no more than a day. But that changed under the Trump administration, with people being held for extended periods in inhumane conditions.
“They’re a great risk of illness injury death losing their livelihood they’re losing their families,” a protester named Jennifer said.
Activists vowed to keep Friday’s protests peaceful as not to give President Trump any excuse to deploy the National Guard to Chicago.
There were no arrests at the protests. There have been protests at the facility before and demonstrators want it to be closed.
There was also pushback from neighboring suburbs near Naval Station Great Lakes Friday morning, before missions even begin.
Demonstrators gathered on overpasses by I-94 in Wilmette and Evanston, holding up signs and flags calling out ICE’s bolstered presence in the area. Some cars driving under the overpass or by the demonstrators could be heard honking in support. Organizers said they plan to be out demonstrating on the overpass throughout September during rush hour in the morning and afternoon.
David Borris with North Shore Says No said the Trump administration has gone too far.
“When they see us up on these overpasses they know they are not alone and they can get out and organize,” Borris said. “It’s neighbor to neighbor, it’s over the backyard fence. It’s what built this country.”
Meanwhile, Illinois Republican chair Kathy Salvi is welcoming the federal support and says Trump is following through on his campaign promises.
“Well within the bounds of law, I think that what American citizens want, what Americans want is crime to be reduced,” Salvi said. “They want to have safe neighborhoods, safe communities, and certainly those people visiting our beautiful city in Chicago deserve to have a beautiful, safe journey to Chicago, and that hasn’t been the case under the leadership of this mayor and this governor, within the bounds of the law.”
Broadview’s mayor said she has been told the facility is expected to be used seven days a week for perhaps the next month and a half.
Chicago communities are expressing their fears ahead of an expected surge in federal immigration enforcement this weekend.
There is ongoing fear of ICE enforcement in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. Community leaders are urging residents to make a plan, but at the same time keep living their lives by going to work or sending their kids to school. The hope there is to continue with as much normalcy as possible.
“I think going to school, having lunch, being able to still participate in programs and sports and try to go as business as usual to help you stay focused and not be distracted,” said Ismael Dominguez, Enlace Chicago resource coordinator.
Dominguez is working inside Little Village High School to let students know their rights and calm their fears.
“I still believe, honestly, that schools are the safest basis for our kids,” said Angel Gutierrez, Enlace deputy director and school board member.
Gutierrez says his organization is encouraging families to stay calm and develop an emergency plan.
“Make sure everyone in your family knows where you’re going and if you’re going to go to store, let them know what store,” Gutierrez said.
The Resurection Project’s Erendira Rendon will be tracking the patterns of ICE. She reminds people federal agents must have a federal warrant to enter any private place. Rendon is also fearful as she is a DACA recipient.
“I feel a little bit more protected in terms of deportations, but I’m also very aware that I could get swooped up, and so I’m taking my precautions and probably not attending many festivities,” Rendon said.
One festivity that is going on as planned is Little Village’s 54th annual Mexican Independence Day Parade, one of the largest in country.
The Mexican Independence Parade will kick off on Sept 14 at noon along 26th street. Organizers are urging Chicagoans of all ethnicities to come celebrate.
Concerns about an increase in ICE activity caused the postponement of Chicago’s El Grito Festival. The festival in Grant Park is meant to celebrate Mexico’s Independence. The postponement was announced after organizers got a call from Governor Pritzker.
The festival also put out a statement, calling the postponement “a painful decision, but holding El Grito at this time puts the safety of our community at stake – and that’s a risk we are unwilling to take.”
Chicago police said “regular days off will be cancelled and tour of duty extensions will be implemented for sworn members” from Sept. 12 through Sept. 16.
In preparation for increased federal immigration enforcement, the city of Chicago has an updated website and information hub led by the Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights (IMRR). It will highlight services and protections for the city’s immigrant and refugee communities.
In the suburbs, Wauconda is canceling its Latin Heritage Fest. Organizers say they know how meaningful the event is for the community, but safety needs to come first.
Aurora’s Fiestas Patrias is still on for this weekend. The city’s special events team says it is working closely with public safety departments to make sure it is safe for everyone.
Temporary fencing will be installed near the Everett McKinley Dirksen Courthouse to help those who need to access the courthouse to do so safely, the ABC7 Chicago I-Team learned Thursday.
Those subject to deportation proceedings will not be brought before a judge in the Northern District of Illinois because those proceedings are administrative proceedings and not judicial proceedings.
“Providing access to justice is at the heart of the Court’s mission and critical for our democracy. The United States Marshals Service is responsible for safety at the Dirksen Courthouse and will work to ensure the safety and security of those who seek assistance from the Court. Maintaining access to the courthouse for anyone who seeks redress remains a top priority of the court. It is a core principle to promote our rule of law,” Chief Judge Virginia Kendall said.
El Grito Chicago organizers announced Thursday that the planned second annual two-day festival Grant Park September 13 and 14 has been postponed indefinitely.
“After careful consideration and at the recommendation of State of Illinois and City of Chicago officials, organizers have decided to postpone El Grito Chicago due to possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and a potential National Guard deployment,” organizers said in a statement. “Given the festival’s location in downtown Chicago, organizers recognize that the festival is a more visible target and have determined that keeping the community safe must be the top priority.”
Chicago police said “regular days off will be cancelled and tour of duty extensions will be implemented for sworn members” from Sept. 12 through Sept. 16.
“These day off cancellations were also implemented in 2023 and 2024 during Mexican Independence Day celebrations and are not related to any federal deployments,” a CPD spokesperson said.
Despite the postponement of El Grito, organizers for the 54th Annual Mexican Independence Day Parade on 26th Street said the event is still going to happen Sunday, September 14.
“With information currently in flux, we are actively working with our elected officials and community partners to determine the best next steps that will ensure our community’s safety while honoring our cherished traditions,” Jennifer Aguilar, Executive Director of LVCC, said in a statement. “The Little Village Chamber of Commerce is fully committed to upholding our 54-year tradition of celebrating Mexican Independence Day and supporting our local business community. We will provide further updates as we work through these considerations with all of the stakeholders involved.”
The impact of hundreds of federal immigration agents arriving in Chicago is reaching far beyond the city.
“When there is a high level of ICE activity, people stop going to work,” Mano A Mano executive director Dulce Ortiz said. “People stop sending their children to school. We don’t want that to happen. At the same time, we understand there is fear.”
Ortiz the executive director of Mano A Mano and Board President of Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights laying out how many in Lake County are feeling right now just days before reported immigrant enforcement operations are set to begin.
“Yes, there may be hundreds of agents deployed in our area, but there are thousands of people working to make sure our community members our protected,” Ortiz said.
Gov. Pritzker says expanded ICE operations will start on Saturday, just as Mexican Independence Day celebrations begin. He also suggested the operation could begin as early as Friday.
“We believe they are going to be fully assembled by tomorrow and can begin operations after that. We’ve heard that could begin Saturday morning, but it’s possible I suppose they could begin tomorrow,” Pritzker said.
Both Waukegan and North Chicago have canceled festivities in light of the recent federal activity.
North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. said offices are set up at Naval Station Great Lakes for the some 300 immigration agents, who are supposed to deploy to Chicago each day.
“That doesn’t make Lake County feel safe knowing that they are here,” Mayor Rockingham said. “Why wouldn’t they at some point be deployed to Lake County? We have Round Lake, have Mundelein, we have other areas that have heavy Latino populations; so, I think all of Lake County should be concerned.”
West suburban Broadview is boarding up a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center there that the mayor says will be used as the primary processing center for at least the next 45 days.
In a statement to community members, Broadview’s Mayor Katrina Thompson writes, “As your Mayor, I want to assure you that the Village is actively monitoring the situation and responding with urgency. We will continue to provide updates as information becomes available. Our priority is to maintain transparency, protect the interests of our residents, and ensure the vitality of our business community.”
Broadview Village Administrator LeTisa L. Jones said in a statement, “The Village of Broadview is coordinating with our neighboring law enforcement partners, the Illinois State Police, and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police to ensure safety and order are maintained in our community as ICE’s operations unfold. Additionally, because Broadview respects the rule of law, we will defend the constitutionally protected right to peaceful protest and will accept no interference with that right. Simultaneously, we will reject any illegal behavior that puts Broadview police officers’ safety or the safety of local businesses and residents at risk.”
Trump Administration Border Czar Tom Homan says the imminent immigration mission in Chicago should come as no surprise.
“We are going to flood the zone,” Homan said. “We’ve got 10,000 more agents coming on. We’re going to flood the zone. We don’t have a problem in Florida or Texas. So, where are we going to send our additional resources? To sanctuary cities. Why? Because we know there is a problem there.”
In preparation for increased federal immigration enforcement, the city of Chicago has an updated website and information hub led by the Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights (IMRR). It will highlight services and protections for the city’s immigrant and refugee communities.
Beatriz Ponce de Leon, from the city’s Office of Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights joins ABC7 Thursday.
Pritzker made it clear there is nothing the state can do as these operations get underway in just a few days.
“We cannot stand in the way,” Pritzker said. “It’s not like we’re going to have armed men standing in between. That’s not something that’s legal. That’s not something that the state of Illinois can engage in, or the city of Chicago can engage in.”
Chicago area Latino leaders respond to expected ICE surge
The looming ICE operations have sparked fear.
The organizers of the Fiestas Patrias Parade and Festival in north suburban Waukegan said their event is being postponed.
The nearly 30-year old event, which is the largest of its kind in the state, was set for Sept. 14, but has now been rescheduled for November.
Meanwhile, community violence intervention volunteers are helping to train neighborhood residents and others who plan on pushing back against the Trump administration by peacefully protesting.
“Our objective is not to frighten the community, but to let them know what’s the real deal, what’s the reality. They are here,” said Margaret Carrasco, Fiestas Patrias Parade and Festival organizer. “We do have 50,000 people that come out to our parades, and our number one priority is the safety of our residents, and we just had to make that call.”
Groups debate possible National Guard deployment in Chicago
It’s still unclear if the National Guard will be deployed to Chicago, but if they are, officials say they would protect federal property like Naval Station Great Lakes.
As anticipation continues for federal intervention in Chicago, there is also mixed reaction about a possible National Guard deployment.
The plan to have National Guard troops in Chicago is getting the attention of some concerned about violence. In Englewood Thursday, some gathered in response to the National Guard coming to Chicago.
“If you want to truly invest in the work we are doing invest in boots on the ground the people that’s rooted from the community the people that understand the community,” said Joshua Coakley with Target Area, Community Violence Intervention.
Those gathered at Ryan Harris Park acknowledged there is a problem with violence in Chicago, but they say the solution will come from investing in people locally with job training and support for young people.
“What Chicago needs is not an invasion of the national guard but an investment in schools youth programs and community resources,” said Millie Myers with MGM Enrichment.
“President Trump, if you are serious, send in the national guard of economic prosperity, send in the people that can actually change poor people into wealthy people,” 16th District Illinois Senator Willie Preston said.
ABC7 met Danielle Carter-Walters with Chicago Flips Red in another South Side neighborhood, and she has a different view.
“I believe if we have some type of presence here that will at least stop the criminals and deter them from victimizing us,” she said.
Carter-Walters grew up in South Shore, and she shared that she has lost loved ones to gun violence. She is the Vice President of Chicago Flips Red.
“We have to do something about it because we are losing loved ones in masses and at some point we have to say it’s just not safe in the city for nobody,” Carter-Walters said.
Chicago Flips Red describes themselves as a grassroots organization of individuals frustrated with the status quo. They gathered outside of Trump Tower downtown on Thursday to share information and register voters.
CTU says Chicago Public Schools should offer remote learning
Chicago Teachers Union says Chicago Public Schools should consider offering remote learning for concerned families amid possible federal operations.
CTU President Stacey Davis Gates joined teachers and parents to outline a plan to protect the school community.
On Friday, CTU will host a “Sidewalk Solidarity Walk-ins” at schools across the city.
Members plan to distribute “Defend Your Rights” flyers to community members, particularly in Black and immigrant communities.
CPS has not responded to ABC7’s request for a comment.
Amid growing angst, anxiety and even annoyance over the continued sketchy details surrounding the Trump administration’s threats to deploy forces into Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday said he expects federal agents to assemble here by the end of the week, and suburban officials have been told to expect about 300 immigration agents to be sent to the area as part of increased operations.
“They haven’t confirmed any of that to us, but what we’re hearing is that they’ll be assembled, ready to go on Friday, and that they will begin actions on Saturday,” Pritzker said, referring to possible additional immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.
Pritzker’s latest comments came after President Donald Trump once again said he wanted the two-term governor to ask him to send in the National Guard to help stem crime in Chicago — a move Pritzker has repeatedly vowed he would not do, arguing it’s unnecessary and an authoritarian move to put troops on the streets of the nation’s third-largest city.
While Trump has said the issue of sending troops to Chicago isn’t political, his campaign team sent out a fundraising email Wednesday stating, “WE’RE GOING INTO CHICAGO” and declaring as “breaking news,” “CHICAGO WILL BE LIBERATED.”
The email sought donations of as little as $15 to “join the MAGA Blitz and say: LIBERATE CHICAGO – SAVE AMERICA – STAND WITH TRUMP!”
“The Radical Left Governors and Mayors of crime ridden cities don’t want to stop the radical crime. I wish they’d just give me a call. I’d gain respect for them,” Trump was quoted in the email from his political team. “This isn’t a political thing; We have the right to do it because I HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO KEEP AMERICA SAFE!”
During his comments in Washington, Trump claimed Chicagoans want him to send the National Guard into the city and that politicians who oppose such a move, including Pritzker, are “out of tune” with their constituents.
As Trump attempted to lure Pritzker into asking for the president’s help, he did find another governor — Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry — asking for federal assistance, with Trump pivoting to say he might send Guard troops to New Orleans.
The move appeared to be aimed at cutting into the criticism from Democratic governors that the White House was only focusing on blue states.
“We have a great thing going. I could do that with Chicago. We could do that with New York. We could do it with Los Angeles,” Trump said. “So we’re making a determination now, do we go to Chicago, or do we go to a place like New Orleans, where we have a great governor?”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, right, listens during a bilateral meeting between President Donald Trump, left, and Polish President Karol Nawrocki, not pictured, in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 3, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty)
Pritzker, a 2028 presidential aspirant, maintained on Wednesday that he thought the Trump administration was staging the Texas National Guard for deployment in Illinois, even after a report from the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office had denied that claim.
“I’m not suggesting that I am absolutely certain of whether or not the Texas National Guard will, in fact, end up in the state of Illinois. What I know is that we’ve been told by people who seem to have the credentials to know,” Pritzker said Wednesday at the Metropolitan Peace Academy on the Lower West Side.
The governor also reiterated that the state “cannot stand in the way” of federal law enforcement.
“It’s not like we’re going to have armed men standing in between,” he said, but rather, the state could combat potential illegal actions in court.
As the politicians spoke with reporters, local law enforcement near the Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, which is expected to act as the nerve center for the federal effort, met with federal authorities who on Wednesday morning briefed them on the roughly 300 agents’ arrival and the potential for the National Guard’s deployment, according to Gregory Jackson, chief of staff for North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. The city’s police chief, Laz Perez, was among those in attendance, Jackson said.
As a result, Rockingham and Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said they are taking steps to ensure the safety of people in their communities, where there is fear of family separation in mixed families where some members are documented and others are not.
“I don’t believe that a time has come in our country where the National Guard and ICE are coming into our community to basically scare the Latino population,” Rockingham said. “I didn’t think our country would ever get to that point.”
The officers will stay in hotels in Waukegan, Gurnee and possibly other area communities. National Guard troops will be used as they were in Los Angeles to protect federal buildings, Jackson said.
Federal buildings in the area include the Navy base, the James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center and an FBI firing range in North Chicago, as well as a U.S. Social Security Office in Waukegan.
Along with representatives of law enforcement from neighboring communities, Jackson said U.S. Navy personnel and naval police were at the briefing, as well as representatives of ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The main gate of Naval Station Great Lakes before sunset on Sept 2, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
With the naval base in North Chicago becoming a focal point of the federal effort, Illinois U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats, said they had requested a meeting with the secretary of the Navy about “Trump’s plan to use Naval Station Great Lakes to house ICE officers.”
Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also demanded the committee’s chair schedule a hearing on “Trump’s threats to deploy the military to Chicago and other American cities,” according to his office.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Wednesday that he thought a federal judge’s ruling this week that found the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles to be unconstitutional would be overturned.
In June, Trump sent more than 2,000 Guard members to California following protests over stepped-up immigration enforcement actions. But a federal judge in California on Tuesday issued an injunction that prohibits the Trump administration from using federalized National Guard troops and military personnel in that state for law enforcement activities.
Hegseth touted the cooperation the Trump administration has received from Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser as “the right kind of collaboration with state, local, city law enforcement” and called it a “template” for other cities.
But the District of Columbia is not a state. Rather, it is a federal district where Trump has greater latitude than he does in dealing with state governors and state sovereignty.
Hegseth declined to provide a timeline for potential Guard intervention in Chicago, saying that the decision lies with the president.
“Whether it’s Chicago or Baltimore or New Orleans, wherever it is, we will be proud to partner with law enforcement that will partner with us. But, as the president has said, he wants governors to invite us in. And, unfortunately, you have got some governors that aren’t willing to do that in Illinois and Maryland,” Hegseth said.
Gov. JB Pritzker talks with reporters after leaving a meeting with community violence intervention leaders Sept. 3, 2025, at Metropolitan Peace Academy in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker on Wednesday said he thought the president might be floating actions in the more Trump-friendly state of Louisiana in response to Tuesday’s court ruling.
The governor also suggested the administration was pushing for him to call the president in order to help in possible future litigation.
“He’s going to end up in court,” Pritzker said, “and that will be a fact that they will use in court, that the governor called to ask for help, and I’m sorry, I’m not going to provide him with evidence to support his desire to have the court rule in his favor.”
