Illinois leaders continue to push resistance, non-compliance, unrest – Wirepoints

By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

There’s no predicting how and to what extent protests will escalate across the country, and whether the deployment of the National Guard and Marines in LA will have served as a deterrent of riots in other big cities like Chicago. It’s in the nation’s best interest for any burning, looting and murder, like what overtook the country in 2020, be nipped in the bud.

But if we learned anything from yesterday’s Congressional testimony by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ leaders will continue to push a climate of resistance, non-compliance and unrest. 

Pritzker doubled down on his previous rhetoric of “you come for my people, you come through me” when in his testimony he directly defied the federal government’s immigration effort. “I will stand in the way of Tom Homan…” Pritzker said, and openly challenged him: “If Tom Homan were to try to arrest me, I can say first of all, he can try.”

His words piled on top of all the dangerous messaging that Chicago’s other leaders continue to promote, like Mayor Johnson’s comparison of ICE’s actions to that of the Confederacy. Or Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s declaration that “Trump is using military force to crush civilian dissent.” Or Pritzker’s earlier calls for “mass protests and disruption” and comparisons of the MAGA movement to Nazism.

Even if you argue that they’ve all voiced rejection of violence in some way, collectively their language, both past and present, is creating a powder keg. Their words incite rather than deter violence. That, along with Pritzker and Johnson’s shielding of criminals from deportation by refusing to work with federal agents, is putting Illinois and everyday Illinoisans at risk.

it’s important to take Illinois leaders’ comments within the following context:

1. The federal government’s efforts to aggressively deport violent illegal criminals is a direct and necessary response to the open, uncontrolled and chaotic border policies of Pres. Biden that allowed tens of thousands of criminals, along with millions of illegal immigrants, into the country. 
2. Some leaders are providing a counter-example to Gov. Pritzker on how to handle ICE protests. Texas Gov. Abbott has preemptively called on the Texas National Guard to be ready to quell any violence to protect his residents. And Florida’ Gov. Ron DeSantis has already signed “anti-rioting” language into state law, and has promised to crack down hard on any potential violence.
3. Chicago has led the country in total homicides for 13 straight years. Violent crime also spiked to a six-year high as recently as May 2024. Chicagoans need more protection, not less. They need fewer violent criminals in Chicago, not more.

Mayor Johnson’s rhetoric has often been more radical than Pritzker’s. During a recent press event the Mayor called for a general resistance: “I am counting on all of Chicago to resist in this moment. It’s a war on our humanity. Whatever particular vulnerable group is being targeted today, another group will be next.” He also declared that the current immigration enforcement efforts are a reflection of “what our country would look like had the Confederacy won.”

The mayor recently also made it clear that Chicago police will render no assistance in the arrest of criminal illegals, releasing a tweet that read: “We’ve received reports of ICE enforcement activity in Chicago today. Please know that Chicago police were not involved. My team and I are working closely with City officials. It’s important that everyone understands their rights.” 

He’s essentially encouraging non-compliance with federal agents and encouraging protests that could potentially devolve into violence.

Senator Tammy Duckworth has added her take. Rioting in Los Angeles to obstruct enforcement of immigration law is just “civilian dissent,” she posted on X last week. And it’s not the rioters who are “creating chaos,” she says, but the National Guard and Trump. Suppressing the riots is “using military force to crush civilian dissent and “un-American.” Keep in mind that the riots began on Friday, but the National Guard did not arrive until Sunday.

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Add it all up and you can’t help but wonder how conflicted both Pritzker and Johnson are in their roles of protecting Illinoisans’ safety. Will they be slow, even derelict, in using the police to quell violence during any ICE intervention, just to spite Trump? Are they so obsessed in their opposition to ICE that they may leave everyday Illinoisans, even some of our very own police, hanging? In the middle of riots? 

It’s not an unfair question. The Los Angeles Police was accused of acting too slow in response to the riots. The excuse? State and local sanctuary laws.

Read more from Wirepoints:

• Illinois has a millionaire problem
• Sen. Tammy Duckworth endorses political violence, calling L.A. riots mere ‘civilian dissent’; blames National Guard and Trump for creating chaos
• Chicago’s Mayor Johnson wants the ultra rich to ‘step up.’ They’re more likely to step out.
• Common sense prevails for once in the Illinois statehouse
• Illinois’ New Budget: Hypocrisy and Deceit Are Now Grotesque in the General Assembly.