We asked readers how they feel about the arrival of National Guard troops in the Chicago area. Here’s what you told us, lightly edited for clarity:
“I’m mad as hell. I represent veterans to correct military discharges in a legal clinic, so I understand that the Texas guardsmen are not choosing to be here. That does not make me less disgusted that the president has militarized our streets and increased fear among our neighbors.”
— Yelena Duterte
“I respect them more than ICE at this point.”
— Richard Pons
“They should have waited until January and had them bring a snow shovel. They might be useful then.”
— Krystina Davis
“I can’t help but wonder how Chicago police feel about the deployment, given that Trump sent [the National Guard] here because he feels that Chicago is a crime-ridden hellhole, which implies that Chicago’s police department is doing a horrendous job.”
— Mark Mardell
“The governor of Texas spent millions of Texas taxpayer dollars to bus refugees to Chicago, and now he’s sending the Guard to reinforce ICE as they harass Chicago neighborhoods. These out-of-town agitators ought to go back where they came from and leave the good people of Chicago alone. They say, ‘Don’t mess with Texas.’ I say Texas is a mess, and it ought to mind its own house.”
— David T. Kindler
“Great idea. Need to make cities safe with or without the mayor’s or governor’s help.”
— Edward Hansen
“The arrival of the National Guard troops from Texas … is a provocation, a political stunt and a gross abuse of power. The lack of communication and coordination with state and local leaders in Illinois and no obvious immediate or long-term need for assistance make it clearly evident that this is a top-down attempt by the federal government to usurp states’ rights and create conflict where there isn’t any.”
— Brent Mullane
“I don’t see [it as] a bad thing, unless you’re a criminal. If Pritzker and Johnson didn’t want national troops they should’ve taken Trump up on his offer because he wouldn’t have sent them then. Trump likes a fight, and that’s why he’s sending them — to prove a point. Pritzker and Johnson want this fight with Trump so they can have an enemy to get base on their side. Pritzker so that he can run for president, Johnson because he needs to distract us from what a terrible job he is doing.”
— Gino Catalano