If President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to send National Guard troops to Chicago — over the objections of Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson — then it would be unprecedented.
“In Illinois, we are not aware of the state’s National Guard forces ever being federalized for an in-state response without the Governor’s request and concurrence,” wrote Illinois National Guard public affairs officer Lt. Col. Bradford Leighton in an email to the Tribune.
Trump threatened in a tweet in January 2017 to “send in the Feds!” in response to violence in Chicago. Ultimately, he didn’t.
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A review of the Tribune’s archives produced 18 events in which the governor activated