Illinois and the city of Chicago have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, aiming to block the deployment of federalized National Guard troops to the city. The legal action comes as hundreds of troops from Texas were en route to Chicago, following orders from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to federalize 300 Illinois National Guard members and mobilize additional forces. U.S. District Judge April Perry allowed the deployment to continue while the federal government responds to the lawsuit, setting a reply deadline of Wednesday midnight.
The dispute follows a similar case in Oregon, where a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump from sending troops to Portland. Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1792, which permits military involvement in civilian law enforcement under extreme circumstances. The law has rarely been used, with the last invocation occurring in 1992 during unrest in Los Angeles. Trump defended his actions as necessary to address what he described as violent riots and lawlessness, citing Portland as an example of insurrection.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker criticized the deployment as politically motivated and unnecessary, accusing Trump of escalating tensions in a city already patrolled by heavily armed federal officers. Pritzker said peaceful protesters, including children, have been traumatized by tear gas and rubber bullets. Trump, meanwhile, maintained that Chicago is “like a war zone” and blamed local leaders for losing control, claiming crime in the city rivals that in global conflict zones. Courts have yet to reach final decisions in similar lawsuits across the country challenging Trump’s expanded use of the military in U.S. cities.
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