President Trump’s Use of the Insurrection Act Sparks Legal Battle in Chicago

By Betsy McCaughey
Wednesday, 08 October 2025 06:16 AM EDT

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., and Mayor Brandon Johnson went to court Monday to stop President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops to the Windy City, calling mob violence against immigration officials a “flimsy pretext.”
The Illinois lawsuit claims that President Trump is sending the Guard to Chicago to “fight crime,” not just protect federal buildings and personnel. The lawsuit argues “neither the Constitution nor any Act of Congress permits” the president to deploy the National Guard for “routine law enforcement, such as protest management or the suppression of violent crime or property damage.”

The Insurrection Act can be used “in practically any situation where the president thinks it needs to be used,” says Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor. Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice adds that “it’s really up to the president to decide when to use the armed forces as a domestic police force.”

The constitutional right to come and go freely is destroyed if you fear being shot leaving home. That’s a daily concern in some Chicago neighborhoods. Property rights of bodega owners and other retailers are eviscerated when shoplifters aren’t prosecuted. Zohran Mamdani, running for Gotham mayor, opposes enforcing laws against shoplifting less than $1,000 worth of goods.

In January a new Illinois law went into effect requiring that convicted criminals no longer be called “offenders.” Instead they’re to be called “justice-impacted individuals.”

The lawsuit also ignores the very real threat to federal immigration officials. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were surrounded and menaced by angry mobs, and local police were told to stand down rather than rescue them.

Federal district court Judge April Perry, a Biden appointee, refused to halt Trump’s deployment Monday and scheduled a hearing Thursday on Illinois’ request for a temporary restraining order against the president. Perry should keep in mind that the Supreme Court has barred courts from second-guessing the president’s use of troops domestically.

In The New York Times on Tuesday, Georgetown law professor Stephen Vladeck omits mentioning Martin v. Mott, suggesting that that the rules that apply to all other presidents don’t apply to Trump.

It’s unlikely Perry will even say much about Pritzker’s argument that Trump is really coming to Chicago to fight crime. But it’s time for the nation consider that option, or start electing urban leaders who tackle crime rather than pander to criminals.

New York City is fortunate to have Jessica Tisch at the helm of the New York City Police Department. And she’s made it clear the Guard are not needed here. Shootings are at an all-time low, and robberies, burglaries and felony assaults are all trending down. But Mamdani is currently leading in the mayoral race.

Betsy McCaughey, Ph.D., is the former lieutenant governor of New York State. Read Betsy McCaughey’s Reports — Here Now.