Ex-President Donald Trump on midweek demanded the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor should be jailed for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump posted on social media early Wednesday. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of state military personnel in the Chicago region under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities such as Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I'm not going put."
The governor responded via social platforms, stating: "I refuse to back down. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials resisting his authority. What's next on the path to full-blown autocracy?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood training facility, an army base roughly 50 miles from Chicago, as the federal government pushes forward with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", even though official statistics indicate significant drops in many offenses, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 state guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the region, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel preparing to mobilize, according to reports. Officials reportedly stated the troops would avoid police functions but would secure ICE officers and their facilities.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with Texas national guard insignia were spotted at the military facility in the town. Vehicles marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered sanitation facilities and other supplies. Trailers were arranged in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered no-fly zones over the military base for security reasons until early December.
The administration has escalated deportation operations in the city in the past month, triggering demonstrations, particularly near an immigration center in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit against the administration, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on the city and state, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
Mayor Johnson also issued an executive order on Monday banning federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as staging areas for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is attempting to "rationalize and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. However, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or discussed sending troops to at least 10 cities, such as major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that most violent crime nationwide has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data released on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of troops without an external threat.
