CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson joined native union leaders Tuesday to announce a deliberate Labor Day rally towards President Donald Trump and his threats to deploy the Nationwide Guard to Chicago.
The rally and march, known as “Employees Over Billionaires,” is deliberate for 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday and can begin on the Haymarket Memorial, 151 N. Desplaines St.
It’s the most recent effort organized by metropolis leaders after a Washington Submit report that the Pentagon has been getting ready for weeks to deploy hundreds of Nationwide Guard troops to Chicago as early as September.
Johnson on Tuesday repeated statements made alongside Gov. JB Pritzker exterior Trump Tower Monday that native and state officers are not looking for the federal pressure in Chicago.
“The billionaires who run this nation proper now … they’ve little interest in addressing poverty,” Johnson mentioned. “They don’t care about options to gun violence or homelessness or immigration, they only don’t need to see it.”
Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, mentioned Trump is attempting to “bait” Chicago leaders right into a combat over native management.
“We’ve a metropolis that has a spirit and an essence that’s taking good care of itself,” Reiter mentioned. “The sort of ‘assist’ he [Trump] needs to deliver to the town, isn’t assist.”
Trump on Monday wavered on his plans for Chicago, which he has brazenly prompt might observe up his administration’s federal takeover of the D.C. police. Trump’s administration additionally beforehand deployed the Nationwide Guard to Los Angeles in June following protests over his deportation insurance policies. Each strikes have drawn authorized challenges. Federal troops patrolling D.C. streets started carrying weapons final weekend as a part of a present of pressure that has unnerved some residents.
“We might wait. We may go in and do it, which might be what we must always do,” Trump mentioned to White Home reporters Monday. “You understand, I hate to barge in on a metropolis after which be handled horribly by corrupt politicians and unhealthy politicians like a man like Pritzker.”
Johnson informed reporters Tuesday that the Chicago Police Division has “strategically positioned a plan” for “maintaining the peace” if the Nationwide Guard arrives.
“American cities shouldn’t be occupied by the army,” Johnson mentioned. “It’s unlawful, it’s unconstitutional, it’s pricey, and it’s a disruption to what we all know is wise about our nation.”
Labor teams organizing the Monday rally embody AFL-CIO, the Chicago Federation of Labor and the Chicago Lecturers Union.
“How do you assist younger folks, who stay in our neighborhoods, who rely upon our public companies, how do you put together them to prepare for an invasion of legislation enforcement?” Chicago Lecturers Union President Stacy Davis Gates mentioned. “We’re going to be in these streets.”
Main cities throughout the USA have seen a drop in violent crime after pandemic spikes. Crime statistics for Chicago this yr present a 30 % discount in homicides, a 35 % discount in robberies and an almost 40 % drop in taking pictures victims. Chicago can also be not listed among the many 25 most harmful cities within the nation, in accordance with an inventory complied by the FBI.
Block Membership’s Melody Mercado contributed to this report.
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