Delphine Cherry knows how intractable violent crimes exist in Chicago. In 1992, her teenage daughter was shot in one of the worst parts of the city. This is a bystander caught up in a gang shootout. Twenty years later, in the suburbs just south of town, he insisted his son.
“You don’t think it will happen twice in your life,” she said.
Chicago has been bold for weeks as President Donald Trump promises the deployment he has promised to the National Guard’s third largest city. Trump said the troops will help fight crime in cities, which he described as “hole in hell,” but his administration was handed over details of the operation, including when it will start, how long it will be, the number of troops used, and the role they will play in civil law enforcement.
Trump also exchanged sending troops to Chicago. Send it to New Orleans Or other cities in the state where their governors “want us to come in.” Most recently, he said this week that Chicago said “probably next” after the National Guard forces were sent out. To Memphis.
Chicago has been one of the highest percentages of gun violence in major American cities for some time, but urban and state leaders have overwhelmingly opposed the planned operations, calling it a political theatre. And even the most directly affected people, including those who have lost their loved ones to violent crimes, wonder how sending an army has a lasting impact on the fight against it.
In Los Angeles and Washington, DC, the military acted as security guards.
How National Guard Forces were used by Chicago’s Unknown Deployment Plan Los Angeles and Washington This summer may provide clues.
June, Trump Thousands of security forces deployed In Los Angeles amid protests against the crackdown on immigrants in his administration. The forces were initially assigned to protect federal property, but they protected immigrant agents during the attack. Shows power In a park in a heavy immigrant district in Los Angeles, local officials believe they sowed the terror.
August, Trump announced He had put Washington police under his control, where he mobilized federal forces to reduce crime and homelessness. The deployed troops patrolled metro stations and patrolled in the most touristy areas of the country’s capital. However, they have also been found raking garbage and leaves at City Park.
The White House reported that more than 2,100 arrests were made in Washington in the first few weeks after Trump announced he was mobilizing federal forces. And Mayor Muriel Bowser praised the federal deployment for a decline in crime, including a decline in Carjackings by 87%, but criticised the frequent arrests of immigrants by masked ice agents. however, An unusually high proportion of cases will be removed Some, including at least one judge, are wondering whether the prosecutor has made a claim decision before the case is properly investigated and reviewed.
Washington is unique in that it is a federal district it covers. Laws that grant Trump’s power He will take over local police for up to 30 days. The decision to use the military to fight crime in other democratically controlled cities represents a significant escalation.
Chicago leaders are looking for more money instead
The Trump administration has not said what the military will do or what parts of Chicago will be operating, but has explicitly promised a surge in federal agents targeting immigration enforcement. That’s the city’s so-called sanctuary policy. Among the strongest in the country It bans local police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
Chicago is not the only democratically driven city in Trump’s sight – he’s mentioned too Baltimore As a potential target. But Trump appears to be holding certain light corns for the windy city, warning him earlier this month in a social media post about “Apocalypse Now.”
But the president’s criticism often focuses on how city and state Democratic leaders deal with crime.
Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker repeatedly pointed to a decline in crime in Chicago, seeking more federal funding for prevention programs in exchange for sending the National Guard.
Last year, the city had 573 murders, 21 people living in every 100,000 people, according to Rochester Institute of Technology. This was 25% less than in 2020 and a lower rate than in several other major cities. Like most big cities, violent crimes have not spread evenly in Chicago, with most shootings occurring on the south and west side.
“If it had been safe, the Trump administration would not have significantly reduced $158 million in federal funds for the Violence Prevention Program this year,” said Yolanda Androzzo, executive director of Illinois, a gun violence prevention nonprofit.
Victims of violent crimes can make lasting changes in the military
After Cherry’s 16-year-old daughter, Tiesa, was killed in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood with a stray bullet fired at rival gang members by a 14-year-old, the devastated mother moved her family to Hazelcrest, a suburb just south of town.
“We were planning a prom. She went to college to become a nurse,” Cherry said.
Her son, Tyler, was fatally shot in the driveway of the family’s suburban home in 2012, 20 years after Tisa was killed.
Her children’s deaths sits Cherry on an anti-Illinois commission – she doesn’t believe she will do nothing to fight crime in Chicago, and doesn’t think it can make the streets even more dangerous.
“They’re not going to ask questions,” Cherry said of the National Guard. “They are trained to kill in their sight.”
Trevon Bosley, who was seven years old when his 18-year-old brother Terrell was shot dead in 2006, thinks sending troops is not the answer when he was shot dead while dropping off drums outside the church before the band rehearsal.
“Chicago has a lot of love and a lot of community,” Bosley said. “We have communities that need help. When these resources are provided, they’re as beautiful as downtown and as beautiful as the north.”
Like Johnson, Pretzker and other critics of the promised military deployment, Bosley believes that better funding will make a real positive difference to some cities with the highest crime and poverty rates.
“There’s not a shortage of police,” Bosley said. “The National Guard and police will appear after a shooting. They won’t appear before. It’s not stopping or saving anyone.”
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Associated Press reporter Christine Fernando contributed to the report.
