Judge refuses to immediately block National Guard deployment to Illinois

National Guard troops could hit Chicago’s streets as soon as today after a federal judge refused a plea from Illinois’ attorneys to immediately block a deployment they labeled “illegal, dangerous and unconstitutional” in a highly anticipated lawsuit Monday.

U.S. District Judge April Perry acknowledged she was “very troubled by the lack of answers” Monday from a Trump administration lawyer about the deployment, including where in northern Illinois the troops might appear.

But she also said more than 500 pages of filings had suddenly arrived in the form of a lawsuit from Illinois and Chicago against the Trump administration, so she gave the Justice Department until midnight Wednesday to respond.

Oral arguments over Illinois’ request for a temporary restraining order are now set for Thursday morning. Perry scheduled that hearing after a Justice Department lawyer told her Texas troops were on their way to Illinois and could begin performing their duties Tuesday “at the earliest.”

Gov. JB Pritzker announced Sunday that President Donald Trump had ordered 400 members of the Texas National Guard to deploy into Illinois, Oregon and elsewhere. He also said that 300 Illinois National Guard troops were being federalized against his “vigorous objections.”

Illinois’ lawsuit now sets up one of the biggest legal clashes yet between the Republican president and the state’s Democratic leaders.

To read the full report, visit chicago.suntimes.com.