Donald Trump has had a non-stop interest in Chicago. The president has described the city as a “hellhole” at a cabinet meeting and recently, talked about the city as a “killing field” bathed in blood.
As Trump again threatens to send the National Guard into Chicago, residents are split: Some welcome the idea, others call it dangerous overreach.
The Southwest News-Herald talked to residents to find out where they stand on the issue.
Former teacher Robert Fabian, who lives near Midway Airport, is in favor of a National Guard deployment.
“It’s sad that we need to have them in the city but I think we’ve come to a point where we should have them,” Fabian said. “I think if someone is not breaking the law, they have nothing to worry about. Too many of us are afraid to walk the streets, to go places we normally used to go to. [On] the Magnificent Mile, [in] the downtown area, so many places are boarded up.”
Fabian doesn’t know if or when he could be confronted with a dangerous situation.
Some state the economic impact on Chicago tourism has improved, disproving Trump’s narrative.
According to a May, 2025 story from WBEZ, Choose Chicago CEO Kristen Reynolds reported a rise in tourist visitors of 6.5%.
The rise is “significant,” she said when compared to 2.5 to 3% annual growth, according to recent industry standards but hasn’t matched pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Still, according to the City of Chicago Data Portal, there were 72 burglaries of commercial/business properties in Chicago with the majority being forcible entries as opposed to attempted forcible entries between June 24 and Aug. 23, 2025.
Southwest Side resident Silvia Rapacz is against a National Guard presence.
“I’m against it,” she said. “I think the National Guard should be used for emergencies, when we need people to help our citizens or the police in some instances but not for arresting people or taking people away. When we were having all the riots, they should have been here then.”
The legality of Trump ordering the deployment is, so far, legally muddy.
Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, is a federal district, which places it under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress and is not part of any state nor is it its own state.
Illinois is a sovereign state, meaning it possesses full autonomy and self-determination over its affairs and territory, according to the research database, EBSCO.
Dennis Fitzgerald, a North Side resident and retired Chicago policeman, who attended a Southwest Side police event recently is in favor of the National Guard deploying to Chicago.
“So many people are fearful of where they live, work and shop,” he said. “If this brings more safety to the neighborhoods then it’s a good thing. It’s been out of control for a long, long time. It’s a real shame that our political leaders can’t see the problem or hear the problem. They’re kind of like in utopia; they should identify with the average person more often.
Fitzgerald questions whether the media covers the issue accurately.
“Just traveling around the city and I’m talking about carjackings and just walking around the sidewalks to shop, what we see on the TV, some of the TV stations, these groups of people going into the store … things need to change,” he said. “They’re gonna do good things, not bad things. I’d be glad to see them personally.”
Finally, Raul Garcia, an area resident, thinks a National Guard presence is not needed.
“I feel like I have never felt a threat in Chicago,” he said. “I’ve never had any type of scenario where I’ve needed more than a police presence. I think a military presence is [going] a little overboard. We’re not a military state. We’re not in a war.”
Garcia believes a resource like the National Guard should be saved for something useful, mentioning recent flooding in Southwest Side communities as an example.
“Those are perfect places for the National Guard to be deployed,” he said.
Garcia also noted that Chicago will have a higher crime rate due to its large size and to say Chicagoans are in danger is “looking at the numbers is too much.”
He thinks the people making those decisions should be physically located in Chicago to “… understand what the situation is.”
On Aug. 31, when asked to give specifics on National Guard deployments to U.S. cities, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not provide details but said, “Nothing is off the table,” according to ABC News.
Asked specifically about when deployments to Chicago will start, Noem said that the federal government will add resources to existing ICE operations in Chicago, throughout Illinois and to other states.