Chicago Democrats reject federal help as holiday shootings surge across city

During the American Civil War, generals were known to ask for the daily “butcher’s bill,” a euphemism for the number of casualties incurred from that day’s battle. 

This past Labor Day weekend in Chicago, the butcher’s bill was 58 people shot, dozens injured and eight killed due to gun violence, compared to 55 people shot and eight killed during the 4th of July weekend.  

So far this year, Chicago’s butcher’s bill is averaging about one murder a day, according to the Chicago Police Department, which has already reported nearly 1,000 shootings, 278 murders, and 1,094 sexual assaults, not to mention significant problems with burglary, theft and carjackings.  

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At this rate, Chicago remains the murder capital of America, or as Trump recently said, “the most dangerous city in the world.” This is unacceptable and intolerable.  

Moreover, Chicago is short thousands of police officers, making it that much harder to do community policing in rough neighborhoods or to respond to 911 calls in a timely manner. 

“Even the mafia is leaving Chicago because of crime,” said Georgia Republican Senator John Kennedy on August 29.  

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I also agree with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who recently said, “Governor [JB] Pritzker should spend less time demonizing the police, more time trying to recruit more police.”  

Yet according to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Pritzker and other Illinois Democrats, everything is hunky-dory. Nothing to see here.  

In fact, they’ve launched a full-scale political resistance campaign against Trump’s likely federal support of the city, arguing that Chicago is not in a state of emergency, that any federal action is unconstitutional, and that the real issues are poverty and lack of education, food, healthcare and social services, not crime. Cue the chants.  

Pritzker even said that Trump merely wants federal troops in Chicago to “stop people from voting.” Absurd.  

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Pritzker and Johnson confirmed over the weekend that they are not going to ask for federal help, that they will not cooperate with federal agents and that they will fight any federal action in court.  

President Donald Trump, enough is enough. Call their bluff and send in the feds! Chicagoans should not have to live like this any longer. My innocent teenage baby brother, Christian, was murdered in Chicago three years ago. Many others have been murdered since, and I take it as an insult to all Chicagoans and Illinois families when the governor and the mayor say there’s no need for federal help.  

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker delivers remarks in Chicago alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson and other officials after reports the White House is preparing to deploy National Guard troops to the city. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

Yes, there is a need. A great need due to the Democrats’ failures on crime. That’s exactly why I started the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety. To fight back against those elected officials who have chosen soft-on-crime policies over the protection of law-abiding citizens.  

All signs point to Trump planning a federal interagency deployment to Chicago, potentially this week, and he should.  

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Border czar Tom Homan recently said, “If these mayors choose to not address the crime rate, President Trump is going to. He made a promise to the American people and that’s why he’s sitting in the Oval Office, American people put him in there because he promised to make America safe again, and that’s what he’s doing.”  

(Incidentally, Naval Station Great Lakes, about 35 miles north of Chicago, is expected to be used as a hub for inbound federal agents and as an additional ICE and Customs and Border Protection detention facility.)  

Trump campaigned on law and order, and if he sends troops to Chicago or other crime-ridden cities, he’s fulfilling his promise to make America safe, as he’s already done in our nation’s capital. Even D.C. Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged that the federal takeover has helped reduce crime in her city. 

Ideally, presidents seek to work in cooperation with state governors and mayors during times of emergency, but if a governor refuses to relinquish control of their National Guard for whatever reason, the president has every right under Title 10 to temporarily federalize that state’s National Guard for national emergencies at his full discretion. I realize activist judges may have something to say about that.  

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If Trump does send in the feds to Chicago, he’ll likely attempt to replicate the successful interagency mobilization we’re now seeing in Washington, DC.  

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National Guard troops in Chicago would ideally support law enforcement while serving as a deterrent show of force. They are authorized to temporarily detain suspects, but they cannot make arrests because they don’t have policing powers under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.  

I also agree with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who recently said, “Governor Pritzker should spend less time demonizing the police, more time trying to recruit more police.”  

Johnson and Pritzker seem to be confused about that clear distinction in roles and authority.  

It’s also wildly hypocritical of Pritzker to demonize the National Guard when he deployed them to protect the Democratic National Convention in 2024. Not to mention that National Guard troops have been deployed in Chicago 18 times from 1877-2021, according to the Chicago Tribune.  

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To my fellow Chicagoans, imagine a city where you and your children feel safe walking the streets day or night and not hearing gunfire every day. Chicago is one of our most iconic cities with enormous potential to become the safe and thriving city that we all want it to be.  

Unfortunately, Pritzker and Johnson have abdicated their number one responsibility to keep their citizens safe. Their ‘butcher’s bill’ can no longer be tolerated or normalized. It’s now high time for President Trump to act.  

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