Here’s how Chicago is preparing as possible National Guard deployment looms

By Andy Rose, Taylor Romine, CNN

(CNN) — After weeks of warnings Chicago could be the next US city to see National Guard troops rolling through its streets, local leaders are preparing – from the governor bracing for a court fight to parade planners girding for intimidation – even while it’s still not clear troops will even show up.

Officials in Illinois hear the National Guard will be in place by Friday and ready to act Saturday – in step with an expected immigration enforcement swell – but no one from the Trump administration has told the state of its plans, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there are “no immediate plans” to send soldiers to Chicago, Vice President JD Vance told reporters Wednesday after Trump the prior day called it “the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far” following a violent Labor Day weekend and said the feds were “going in,” though without saying when.

As local and state leaders denounce any surge of federalized troops, Pritzker told community leaders Wednesday he’ll do his best to “hold the line” as he and others try to figure out how to prevent or respond to US military in Chicago. Here’s some of what they’re doing:

State girds for legal fight

The state will not file a lawsuit against the administration until it knows Trump’s justification for a deployment, Pritzker said Tuesday, promising that if troops are activated in Chicago, legal action will follow.

“We absolutely will go into court,” the governor said.

Illinois has already proven its willingness to combat federal actions in court, joining a multistate lawsuit against the administration’s effort to cut off federal relief — including for Head Start school programs and domestic violence shelters — for people who cannot prove they have legal status to be in the United States.

“President Trump’s plan is not only bad strategy, but it is illegal,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul of the expected National Guard deployment.

To protect himself legally, Pritzker is not calling the president to discuss the situation, the governor said Wednesday.

Trump is “going to end up in court, and that will be a fact that they will use in court that the governor called to ask for help, and I’m sorry, I’m not going to provide him with evidence to support his desire to have the court rule in his favor,” he said.

The governor also urged residents to be prepared to record any Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity they see to help document if federal agents are “doing something wrong or to keep them honest.”

City tells police not to cooperate with federal agents

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — one of the most voluble critics of Trump’s threats to put the military on his city’s streets — issued orders over the weekend, saying the Chicago Police Department will not cooperate with federal agents in the latest White House push.

“No CPD personnel shall be assigned joint law enforcement patrols, arrest operations, or other law enforcement duties alongside federal law enforcement, or military personnel, or National Guard units engaging in civil immigration enforcement,” the order states.

Johnson’s order also directs city departments to “pursue all available legal and legislative avenues to resist coordinated efforts from the federal government” that violate the rights of city residents.

“We have not called for this. Our people have not asked for this, but nevertheless, we find ourselves having to respond to this,” Johnson said before signing the executive order Saturday.

The case against National Guard deployment in a US city was bolstered Tuesday in San Francisco, where a federal judge ruled the administration’s Los Angeles deployment in June broke federal law prohibiting the military from law enforcement activity on US soil in most cases. The Trump administration has appealed.

Although US District Judge Charles Breyer ordered the federal government to stand down in California, his ruling is not effective in Illinois, and Trump has shown no indication the court decision changed his intentions.

“Under prior administrations, you would expect the White House to take this extremely seriously and for it to deter them from those sorts of deployments,” former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori told CNN’s Pamela Brown. “We do not know given the way that this administration has conducted itself whether it will actually take that position.”

Teachers educate families on their rights

The Chicago Teachers Union started handing out flyers this week during school drop-off to remind parents and students of their legal rights in preparation for any National Guard deployment.

The flyer, in English and Spanish, tells families they have the right to remain silent, don’t have to consent to be searched and don’t have to share their birthplace or citizenship status, among other rights.

“We will stand in the gap and make sure our students and their families know their rights,” said Sylvelia Pittman, a teacher at Nash Elementary School on the city’s west side, during a news conference Wednesday.

Mexican Independence Day parade preps for potential ICE presence

With the pressure getting turned up on Chicago, some are raising questions about the timing of a ramp-up in immigration enforcement.

“We have reason to believe that (White House Deputy Chief of Staff) Stephen Miller chose the month of September to come to Chicago because of celebrations around Mexican Independence Day that happen here every year,” Pritzker said.

So far, no community fiestas and parades that dot Chicagoland in mid-September have been canceled, but there is concern people planning celebrations may be intimidated.

“It breaks my heart to report that we have been told ICE will try and disrupt community picnics and peaceful parades,” Pritzker said. “Let’s be clear: The terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here.”

Saturday’s Mexican Independence Day Parade in the Pilsen neighborhood will go on as planned, organizer Vicky Lugo has said. But some in the large immigrant neighborhood are scared to attend because of the potential for ICE enforcement during a celebration of Mexican pride, she said.

“We are not worried, but obviously we are taking precautions,” she said, noting the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights will be there handing out cards informing people of their rights and visiting businesses to make sure they know what to do if ICE comes.

Volunteers and marshals will monitor the parades to protect attendees, she said.

Families should do what’s best for them as organizers take precautions, Lugo said, adding it’s important for people to celebrate their culture and traditions.

“The freedom of another country, it’s the same thing that we hear in the US,” Lugo said. “Being able to celebrate all these things have a deep significance for everyone because it’s not just about Mexican Independence Day, it’s about freedom for all.”

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CNN’s Whitney Wild and Bill Kirkos contributed to this report.