Illinois sues to block Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago

Illinois filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block U.S. President Donald Trump from deploying hundreds of federalized National Guard troops into the streets of Chicago.

The Democratic-led state filed the lawsuit hours after a federal judge in Oregon on Sunday temporarily blocked Trump's administration from sending any National Guard troops to police Portland, Oregon.

The lawsuit took aim at a decision by the Trump administration over the weekend to federalize up to 300 members of the Illinois National Guard over the objections of Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker and another 400 from Texas to deploy into Chicago.


"These advances in President Trump's long-declared 'War' on Chicago and Illinois are unlawful and dangerous," the complaint alleged.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move to deploy troops to Illinois is the latest example of Trump expanding use of the U.S. military in his second term, which has included deploying troops along the U.S. border and ordering them to kill suspected drug traffickers on boats off Venezuela.

National Guard troops have been deployed to police Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and Trump has said he would send troops to several other cities including Portland, regardless of objections from local government officials.