Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker bashed President Donald Trump’s claims about soaring violence in Chicago as being rooted in “lies,” arguing the city has cut its crime rates despite clashing with the administration.
In an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns for “The Conversation,” the Democratic governor praised the city for slashing its local crime statistics by “double digits.” He lauded the use of civilian law enforcement to combat crime in Chicago, arguing that the city’s successes came even though he says the Trump administration had cut the number of agents in the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration from the city’s streets.
“We’ve been building up our police forces, including the state police under my command,” Pritzker said. “Frankly the money that the federal government used to send to us has now been cut off under him.”
Chicago has resisted the administration’s attempts to send the National Guard to fight crime in the city this month, pitching a series of legal battles to stall the deployment. A federal judge in Chicago blocked the administration’s deployment to the city last week, and an appeals court temporarily lifted an order blocking the White House’s efforts to federalize troops for use in the city, while maintaining the block on their deployment. Chicago has also seen a surge of immigration enforcement.
Trump also halted billions of dollars in funding for a string of Democratic states this month, including in Illinois.
Pritzker blamed the president’s evidence for targeting major U.S. cities on “lies” that have gained traction among his supporters and administration officials.
“You know, he’s got the biggest platform in the country, the presidency, and he just says things,” Pritzker said. “It’s propaganda, again, not true, but he’ll say it over and over and over again, hoping that people will believe him.”
“Again, Portland isn’t on fire,” he continued. “And yet, yeah, you’re right. He lies, he says it over and over again, and if it gets amplified by mainstream media or by podcasts or whatever, then there are people who might listen and believe it.”
The full interview with Pritzker is available on Sunday’s episode of “The Conversation.”
