Trump asks military base outside Chicago for operational support

The Department of Homeland Security asked Naval Station Great Lakes near Chicago on Wednesday for limited logistical support, according to a base spokesman. Reports of the administration's request came after weeks of comments from President Donald Trump about sending the National Guard to Chicago.

The administration's top priority is ensuring cities are safe, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday in response to a question on the city’s crime. Chicago has had the most murders of any city in America for 13 years running, she said. The city’s 2024 murder rates were triple that of Los Angeles and five times more than New York City, she added. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker needs to put politics aside and work with Trump to keep Americans safe, Leavitt said.

How is Illinois responding? If Trump plans to send the National Guard into Chicago, he will be met with action from state leaders, Pritzker wrote Wednesday night. Chicagoans don't want or need Trump here, he added in a later post. Chicago does not want or need the military in our city, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wrote in a Thursday morning statement. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also continued to insist that the city’s crime rates are at historic lows. Homicides and shootings are both down by over 30% year-to-date, his office shared. Violent crime is down by over 20%, with youth employment up to nearly 50% year-to-date, the release added.

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., released a Thursday statement specifically addressing the administration’s contact with the naval base. He characterized the president’s request as a threat to send masked ICE agents to Chicago and called it unnecessary and dangerous. He also accused Trump of wanting to bully locals and described the administration as authoritarian. Trump can better fight crime by releasing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for local programs, Schneider said. Trump’s actions are weakening conditional protections and undermining the rule of law, he added.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report about crime rates dropping before Trump’s Washington, D.C. crackdown.