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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker delivered a stirring speech on Monday in response to Trump's threats to send federal troops to Illinois. It is worth your while to watch the 15-minute speech in its entirety, YouTube/NBC: Gov. Pritzker responds to Trump's National Guard threat to Chicago: 'Do not come', or to read the full text of the remarks, CBS News, Full text of Illinois Gov. JB Pritkzer's speech at news conference on reported Trump military plan for Chicago.
Like recent remarks by Governors Newsom of California, Wes Moore of Maryland, and Kathy Hochul of New York, Governor Pritzker’s remarks did not hold back. He rose to the moment, speaking plainly about the threat to democracy posed by Donald Trump. He dismissed the lies and rationalizations peddled by Trump and his enablers. He chastised the governors of red states for allowing their National Guard troops to be sent to Chicago and other blue cities. And he reminded bureaucrats and political appointees who are helping Trump violate the law that a day of justice and accountability will come for them—sooner than they think.
It is gratifying to have another voice that is raising the alarm while calling for resistance. The center of gravity of media reporting is quickly shifting from alarm to panic. Alarm is warranted and beneficial, but only as an aid to rallying citizens to resist Trump's assault on the rule of law and the Constitution. Courage and resistance are contagious. So are panic and surrender. There is only one correct response.
Governor Pritzker put the lie to Trump's claim that he was sending troops to fight crime. Pritzker said,
Crime is dropping in Chicago. Murders are down 32% compared to last year and nearly cut in half since 2021. Shootings are down 37% since last year, and 57% from four years ago. Robberies are down 34% year over year. Burglaries down 21%. Motor vehicle thefts down 26%.
So, in case there was any doubt as to the motivation behind Trump's military occupations, take note: 13 of the top 20 cities in homicide rate have Republican governors. None of these cities is Chicago.
This is about the president of the United States and his complicit lackey, Stephen Miller, searching for ways to lay the groundwork to circumvent our democracy, militarize our cities, and end elections.
Governor Pritzker also spoke to the disrespect and abuse of the National Guard troops by sending them to serve as props for photos for a media overly eager to boost Trump's talking points. Pritzker said,
It is insulting to [the troops’] integrity and to the extraordinary sacrifices that they make to serve in the Guard to use them as a political prop, where they could be put in situations where they will be at odds with their local communities, the ones that they seek to serve.
I know Donald Trump doesn't care about the well-being of the members of our military, but I do and so do all the people standing here.
Pritzker spoke directly to Republican governors who are sending their state’s National Guard to patrol the peaceful streets of cities governed by Democrats:
To my fellow governors across the nation who would consider pulling your National Guards from their duties at home to come into my state against the wishes of its elected representatives and its people, you would be failing your constituents and your country.
Cooperation and coordination between our states is vital to the fabric of our nation, and it benefits us all. Any action undercutting that and violating the sacred sovereignty of our state to cater to the ego of a dictator will be responded to.
He warned those who are aiding Trump in his crimes that they will be held to account for their actions:
[T]o the Trump administration officials who are complicit in this scheme, to the public servants who have forsaken their oath to the Constitution to serve the petty whims of an arrogant little man, to any federal official who would come to Chicago and try to incite my people into violence as a pretext for something darker and more dangerous: we are watching and we are taking names.
And finally, Governor Pritzker vowed that the state and people of Illinois would resist the illegal deployment of the National Guard to Chicago, noting that we must “apply force” to help bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice:
The State of Illinois is ready to stand against this military deployment with every peaceful tool we have. We will see the Trump administration in court. We will use every lever at our disposal to protect the people of Illinois and their rights. [¶]
As Dr. King once said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Humbly, I would add, it doesn't bend on its own. History tells us we often have to apply force needed to make sure that the arc gets where it needs to go. This is one of those times.
Trump issues an executive order regarding National Guard troops
On Monday, Trump issued an executive order that addressed several aspects of using National Guard troops to supplement local law enforcement activities. However, upon close inspection, the executive order is mostly a publicity stunt, doing little more than directing the Secretary of Defense to train National Guard troops to help “equip, train, organize, and make them available” to “quell civil disturbances.” The Executive Order is here: Additional Measures to Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia – The White House
Training and equipping troops is what the military does. But the question of whether the troops are permitted to “quell civil disturbances” is one of constitutional and statutory law. Nothing in Trump's executive order can supersede the Constitution or congressional statute, including the Posse Comitatus Act.
As noted, the executive order is performative politics.
For example, the order requires the National Park Service to hire additional Park Police “subject to availability of appropriations.” (Park Police serve as law enforcement at the various national monuments, malls, and museums under federal control in D.C.)
This provision is a cruel joke. There is no money to hire additional Park Police. Trump's Big Ugly Bill just cut $267 from the National Park Service budget, which amounts to 17% of its total appropriation for 2026.
The Park Service is in the process of laying off 30% of its employees as a result of the Big Ugly Bill. Trump now wants the NPS to hire more employees in DC as part of a publicity stunt.
Similarly, the executive order establishes “an online portal for Americans with law enforcement or other relevant backgrounds and experience to apply to join Federal law enforcement entities.” Another joke!
The “online portal” already exists—and has been in place for three decades. It is called USAJOBS - The Federal Government's official employment site. Trump is creating a duplicative, wasteful website instead of using the existing website for federal job applications.
The real import of the order is that it creates a “standby” task force of National Guard troops to respond to civil disturbances. Such troops would essentially be permanently called up for duty, which flies in the face of the National Guard model in which troops work at civilian jobs most of the year and spend weekends preparing for deployment.
National Guard troops who signed up for a part-time gig subject to deployment to foreign conflicts are unlikely to be pleased that they are now permanently on standby for deployment.
While Monday’s executive order appears to take action, it is mainly posturing. Still, it reinforces the notion that Trump, Stephen Miller, and Pete Hegseth would deploy troops as a police force if it were up to them. Fortunately (for us), they have the Posse Comitatus Act, the courts, Democratic governors, and millions of grassroots defenders of democracy to contend with!
Trump seeks to gain control of the Federal Reserve by firing Lisa Cook
The Federal Reserve System—the Fed—is the nation’s central bank. It is designed to be independent from political pressures. It has seven “governors” who serve 14-year staggered terms. The Chairman of the Fed is elected by the governors to a 4-year term. Jerome Powell’s term as Chair expires in May 2026, although his term as a governor extends through 2028.
Trump currently has two of seven appointees on the Fed. Removing and replacing Lisa Cook would give him three loyalists on the Fed. If Trump can force another governor to resign early—like Jerome Powell—Trump appointees would control the Fed. At that point, Trump would likely order his appointees to lower interest rates to a level that pleased Trump—without regard to inflationary pressures that artificially low interest rates might create.
Trump claims he is removing Fed governor Lisa Cook “for cause.” As usual, he is relying on a claim of mortgage fraud, i.e., that Cook claimed two different homes as her primary residence. See WSJ, Trump Says He Is Removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
Whether Lisa Cook can be removed “for cause” is a contested factual and legal issue. In the absence of proof, mere allegations should not support a “for cause” termination. Even then, the president’s authority to remove Cook is uncertain. But the Supreme Court has been weakening “for cause” protections for members of independent commissions.
It is not clear how the Supreme Court would rule on a suit by Cook to remain in office. (Cook says she isn’t going anywhere despite Trump's claim that he is firing her.) See NBC, Trump says he's removing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, citing his administration’s allegations of mortgage fraud.
Per the NBC article,
Under the Federal Reserve Act, the only reason Federal Reserve governors can be removed from their positions is “for cause,” or some kind of wrongdoing.
Cook has not been charged with any crime, and her removal is likely to lead to a court battle between the independent central bank and the executive branch.
The Supreme Court said in May, while granting Trump the ability to remove members of other independent agencies, that the Federal Reserve is a “uniquely structured, quasi-private entity” that has its own distinct historical tradition. That led many to believe the bar would be high for Trump to be able to remove any Fed board members or its chairman.
As I have said on many occasions previously, I have lost faith in the Supreme Court. The reactionary majority seems determined to uphold Trump’s actions no matter how badly they must twist themselves into human pretzels. Stay tuned!
Senator Chuck Grassley is begging for tariff relief on fertilizer imports
Trump's tariffs are beginning to bite. On Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) posted the following plea on Twitter:
Fertilizer input prices are at ALL TIME HIGH relative to the low low prices of grain. Fastest relief for farmers would be lowering duties on fertilizer imports. Input price /grain price is ratio historically used to predict profit or loss.
When farmers in Iowa are squeezed by Trump's tariffs, you know the pain is soon to be spread widely across America.
Concluding Thoughts
Trump's attempt to militarize law enforcement operations in blue cities is reprehensible, unconstitutional, and anti-democratic. We should take those efforts very seriously and oppose them with all our might. But we should also not exaggerate or catastrophize Trump's efforts.
Reliable reporting regarding the size of the mobilization of National Guard troops puts that number at 1,700, to be spread across five potential target cities. That averages to 350 National Guard troops per city.
The de minimis number of troops does not lessen the severity of the constitutional injury. But it should help us to maintain perspective about whether there is any realistic scenario in which federal troops would take over the law-enforcement function in our cities. There is not.
[Note: Washington D.C. is a special case because of its special status as a federal district under the control of Congress and the president.]
But compare the deployment of a couple of hundred troops to the populations of the top cities on the list: Chicago (2.7 million), New York (8.0 million), Baltimore (565,000), and Los Angeles (4.1 million).
The size of the military task force (1,700) in comparison to the combined populations of the target cities (15 million) strongly suggests that the deployment has two purposes, neither of which is to take over police functions in the cities. Those functions are
1. To create propaganda opportunities to suggest that Trump is being “tough on crime” when he is just “wasting taxpayer money,” and
2. To normalize the presence of the military in US cities—at least in cities controlled by Democratic officials.
We can oppose the first illegitimate purpose by ongoing grassroots resistance (including mass demonstrations), lawsuits, and organized political pushback by Democrats in Congress and statehouses.
We can oppose the second illegitimate purpose by ongoing grassroots resistance (including mass demonstrations), lawsuits, and organized political pushback by Democrats in Congress and statehouses.
In case you missed it, the steps to opposing both of Trump's illegitimate purposes are the same. It is up to us, with the aid of the courts, the Democratic minority in Congress, and state-level Democratic leadership, to make clear that Trump's deployment of troops is unlawful and will not be accepted by the people of the United States.
We are bigger, stronger, more powerful, and more durable than any “task force” of troops that Trump can send to cities across the U.S. Raising alarm is appropriate. Fighting back through peaceful and lawful means is better. Predicting the end of democracy is counterproductive, wrong, and weak. Did I mention that the American people are bigger, stronger, more powerful, and more durable than any “task force” of troops that Trump can send to cities across the U.S.?
Stay strong. We are in for a tough battle, but we are up to the task!
Daily Dose of Perspective
Below is NGC 7331. I captured this image on August 25, 2025, from my backyard in Los Angeles. I live in an area of extreme light pollution, so my ability to capture images of deep space objects competes with the bright night skies in L.A.
The image of NGC 7331 below was taken by reader Ralph Ford from a location about 60 miles north of Los Angeles, where the night skies are considerably darker. Ralph and I used the same model of telescope. Ralph took a longer exposure (by a factor of 2). You can see how darker skies increase the ability to capture detail in deep sky photos.
Thanks for putting Gov. Pritzker's remarks front and center of your letter. I had just watched the tape of it when your letter hit my inbox and his powerful last words were still lingering in my mind: "As Dr. King once said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Humbly, I would add, it doesn't bend on its own. History tells us we often have to apply force needed to make sure that the arc gets where it needs to go. This is one of those times."
Yes, this is indeed one of those times. I do hope that all readers take the time to watch or read the speech.
Pritzker made me proud to have spent the better part of a fruitful decade in Chicago. His speech is a real bright spot amidst the relentless slog. Pritzker endowed blue city / state resistance with the dignity, eloquence and teeth it deserves. I reckon part of what made his speech today feel so enlightening was his willingness to name names, and to articulate not just the depravity of the actors, but also a durable plan to hold them accountable in the near -- and far -- future.
Lisa Cook's comments today (I forget where I read them) sounded very resistant. She does not sound like she's going easily, or quietly. Perhaps the courts will remove her, but I commend her not backing down. Hopefully this pattern of resistance will become contagious.
One topic that did alarm me today, in a lower-key manner, was the staggering amount of countries -- most of whom we had counted as allies not long ago -- who now refuse parcel shipping and delivery to / from the U.S. It is an understandable response to superfluous tariffs, but hard to see an off-ramp with this regime. It's maddening self-imposed isolation. And yet another embarrassment du jour: Trump completely botching "comfort women" in his dialogue with South Korea. Awful, awful cringe.