Trump threatens to send National Guard to Chicago; Pritzker says he has 'no right'
Crime numbers are down in Chicago and Washington, DC despite Trump's criticisms, data shows.
WHEELING, Ill. (WLS) -- President Donald Trump announced a plan on Monday to deploy the National Guard to the nation's capital and said the same could happen in Chicago.
"I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse," Trump said.
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Trump has criticized Washington, D.C. as unsafe for years. He said the action being taken on Monday could soon be on the way to Chicago, despite crime numbers dropping in both communities.
Trump had suggested a federal takeover of Washington shortly after a former government staffer, who used to work for Elon Musk, was attacked in an attempted carjacking, according to authorities.
"We're going to take our capital back. We're taking it back. Under the authorities vested in me as the president of the United States, I'm officially invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, you know what that is, and placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control," Trump said.
Sources told ABC News that officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Secret Service, and U.S. Park Police have been dispatched to the district, plus 120 FBI agents.
Despite the president's claims about violence in Washington, police data shows crime in the nation's capital is down 7% since last year. Violent crime has dropped 26%. Property crime is down 5%. Violent crime in Washington hit a 30-year low in January.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin called the president's plan a distraction tactic.
"It's a typical move by this president," Durbin said.
Trump took shots at Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, criticizing the Illinois' no-cash bond laws.
"If we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster. We have a mayor there who's totally incompetent. He's an incompetent man," Trump said.
Johnson says violence prevention programs have contributed toward a reduction in violent crime.
"This is the same president that has cut $800 million out of the budget for violence prevention, where I make investments in violence prevention," Johnson said.
According to Chicago police data analyzed by the ABC7 data team, there were more than 24,000 violent crimes over the last 12 months. That's a 12.5% decrease compared to the average of the prior three years. Shootings are down more than 31% over that same time period.
Trump spoke about Illinois' governor, saying "Pritzker is an incompetent his family threw him out of the business, and he ran for governor and now I understand he wants to be president, but I noticed he lost a little weight, so maybe he has a chance."
Pritzker said later Monday, "As to everything else that he had to say this morning, I guess I should say thank you for the compliment."
As for deploying the National Guard to Chicago, Pritzker says there is a law that prohibits Trump from doing it.
"The federal government does not have the right to send soldiers into the American cities for the purpose well any purpose to specifically to fight crimes," Pritzker said.
In California, a judge will hear arguments on whether the Trump administration violated federal law when it deployed National Guard soldiers and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles during June protests over immigration raids.
At an unrelated event on Monday, Pritzker told the audience he chose to run for governor because he believed Illinois was headed in the wrong direction. While he is not ruling out a run for president, Pritzker says his focus remains on running for a third term.
Pritzker encourages back-to-school vaccinations
Pritzker also encouraged back-to-school vaccinations during National Immunization Awareness Month on Monday.
The governor spoke a the health center for Community Consolidated School District 21 in Wheeling alongside directors of the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.
"As our classrooms come back to life and our kids get back to learning and playing with one another, it's essential that everyone take this safe and effective step to protect their health," the governor said.
READ MORE | RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development
IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra urged that immunizations are essential for children to succeed in school.
"If you haven't gotten your physical, now is the time to contact your health care provider or take advantage of back-to-school clinics in your community," Vohra said.
To see the immunization requirements for children in Illinois, click here.
