AG Blanche slams Pritzker for refusing help as Chicago crime surges
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticizes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for declining federal assistance to combat soaring Chicago gun violence, despite 37 shootings occurring in a span of two days. Blanche details significant crime reductions in Washington, D.C. after federal intervention. He also highlights the FBI’s success in apprehending a $1.2 billion Medicare fraudster and recovering $5 billion in stolen funds.
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The city of Chicago was rocked by a spate of shootings over the weekend, including a drive-by mass shooting on Juneteenth, leaving seven dead and 38 injured in the Windy City. The shootings prompted President Donald Trump to call on Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to take action by requesting federal assistance.
The Associated Press reported that at least two dozen shooting incidents took place over the weekend, with victims who died ranging in age from 18 to 50. On Friday night, two unidentified individuals fired into a crowd in Princeton Park on Chicago’s South Side, resulting in 12 people — eight males and four females — being hospitalized, according to the AP.
That same night, a 29-year-old man named Mario Price was killed in a drive-by shooting in which he was shot in the body and face, according to Fox 32 Chicago. A 70-year-old man who was standing nearby was also shot in the leg but survived. Shootings continued on Saturday and Sunday, resulting in additional deaths and injuries.
Besides these, on Thursday, a 14-year-old boy was shot multiple times, resulting in his death, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The outlet reported that the Midwest Hawks youth football team, of which the boy was a member, mourned his passing, saying in a statement that “there are no words that can ease the pain of a loss like this.”
AG BLANCHE SLAMS PRITZKER FOR REFUSING HELP AS CHICAGO CRIME SURGES
Gov. JB Pritzker speaks onstage during the No Kings Rallies in Chicago, Illinois, on Oct. 18, 2025. President Donald Trump speaks to media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27, 2026. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for No Kings; Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In response to the shootings, Trump shamed Pritzker for not taking action.
“Lots of Killing going on in Chicago,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Why isn’t Governor Pritzker calling me for help. I could make Chicago a safe City in ONE MONTH, in ONE YEAR, it would be one of the safest!!!”
The president pointed to his crime crackdown in the nation’s capital, writing, “D.C. went from one of the worst to one of the safest cities in the U.S.”
Besides Washington, D.C., Trump has also deployed National Guard troops and federal authorities to Portland, Los Angeles and Memphis. After extensive legal challenges, Trump sent several hundred troops to the Chicago area late last year. However, the deployment remained tied up in court, and the troops were demobilized in January.
TRUMP’S DC CRIME SUCCESS PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON CHICAGO’S DEADLY ‘WAR ZONE’
Earlier this month Chicago police reported 29 people were shot with four people who died as a result of gunfire within the span of three days in Chicago. (FOX32 Chicago)
Pritzker, one of the country’s most prominent Democrats and a rumored 2028 presidential frontrunner, has repeatedly declined Trump’s offers to send the National Guard and federal authorities to crack down on crime in Chicago.
In a news conference last year, Pritzker stated emphatically, “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago,” adding, “You are neither wanted here nor needed here.”
Pritzker said, “If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is — a dangerous power grab.”
ILLINOIS DEMOCRAT LEADERS BLAST TRUMP PUSH TO SEND NATIONAL GUARD TO CHICAGO
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to reporters outside Trump Tower in Chicago as he denounces a potential plan by the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to the city. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
In October, Pritzker mocked the notion that Chicago was undergoing a surge in violence during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show. Dressed in a Kevlar vest and standing in downtown Chicago, the governor quipped, “This is JB Pritzker, reporting from war-torn Chicago. As you can see, there’s utter mayhem and chaos on the ground. It’s quite disturbing.”
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“We’ve seen people being forced to eat hot dogs with ketchup on them, and our deep dish pizza, well, has gone shallow. So, it’s a challenge to survive here in the city of Chicago, but there’s no hellscape that I’d rather be in,” said Pritzker.
Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker for comment.
