CHICAGO (AP) — Officials in Illinois braced Tuesday for the possible arrival of the National Guard while a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's plan to send hundreds of troops to the Chicago area still simmers and critics vigorously pan the deployment as an assault on the city.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has said some 300 of the state’s guard troops were to be federalized and sent to Chicago, along with 400 from Texas.

“He wants to justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command,” Pritzker said of Trump.

He accused the president of using troops as “political props” and “pawns.”

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday posted a picture on social media showing Texas National Guard members boarding a plane, but he didn’t specify wher

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