<p>Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton joined leaders in Lake County Friday to denounce President Donald Trump’s plan to use a nearby naval base to house hundreds of federal immigration agents as part of a potential surge in enforcement next week in Chicago.</p><p>Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago — the Navy’s largest training station and the largest military installation in the state — is being considered as a possible staging ground for the immigration blitz, the Chicago Sun-Times first reported. National Guard troops could also be sent to support the effort.</p><p>Like Gov. JB Pritzker, Stratton was defiant in the face of Trump’s plan to target Chicago, saying the president "knows Illinois wont stand silently by while our neighbors are snatched off the street in broad daylight."</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton speaks out about a proposed use of Naval Station Great Lakes for federal military personnel during an event at Veterans Memorial Park in North Chicago, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. The event was co-sponsored by Mano a Mano Federal Resource Center and the Illinois Coalition for immigrant and Refugee Rights. | Paul Valade/Daily Herald" srcset="https://ift.tt/D5UBYte 1x,https://ift.tt/xvEGHM8 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton speaks out about the proposed use of Naval Station Great Lakes for federal military personnel during an event at Veterans Memorial Park in North Chicago on Friday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Paul Valade/Daily Herald</p></div></div>
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</div><p>She joined a chorus of voices speaking out against the Trump administration’s looming threats.</p><p>Earlier Friday, a group of faith leaders met at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse downtown to deliver a letter intended for trump to the U.S. attorney’s office. </p><p>“We are rising, rising not because of soldiers and military occupation, but because of neighbors and organizers, healthcare professionals, educators, pastors and parents, young people and elders who decide to choose peace," said the Rev. Tyrone McGowan, from Progressive Community Church on the South Side.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Rev. Marshall Hatch holds up the letter they will deliver to the US Attorney outside of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. Leaders from various church organization in Chicago came together to deliver a letter to President Trump asking him to not send in the National Guard. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times" srcset="https://ift.tt/W8fXDFM 1x,https://ift.tt/Dkwz7lI 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Rev. Marshall Hatch holds up the letter they will deliver to the US Attorney outside of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Friday. Leaders from various church organization in Chicago came together to deliver a letter to President Trump asking him to not send in the National Guard.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Around the same time, a group of veterans gathered virtually and said the deployment of the National Guard elsewhere had also stoked fear in the troops. </p><p>Demi Palacek, an Air Force veteran and member of the Illinois Army National Guard, noted that service members are now "forced into roles that pit us against our own communities." </p><p>"Readiness will suffer, and [during] the next disaster or emergency, the National Guard will not be trusted in the community to do its job," Palacek added.</p><p>In addition to a looming immigration enforcement operation that could send more than 200 federal agents to the Chicago area, Trump has also threatened to send in the National Guard to quash crime he says is out of control.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Naval Station Great Lakes main entrance at Sheridan Road and Farragut Avenue in Great Lakes, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times</p></div></div>
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</div><p>In fact, Chicago has seen a 32% decline in homicides, a nearly 33% decline in robberies and a 36% decline in shootings so far this year compared to last, according to Chicago police data. Chicago’s homicide rate had increased by about 60% from 2019 to 2021, but as of 2025, it has followed national trends and fallen <a class="Link" href="https://ift.tt/fyPFhTt" >25% below where it was in 2019</a>.</p><p>Speaking alongside Stratton, North Chicago mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. predicted the planned operation would target “hardworking” families, drive up crime and sew distrust among residents and local law enforcement — a fear echoed by Lake County States Attorney Eric Reinhart.</p><p>“ICE raids do not make us safer, they make us afraid," Rockingham told reporters gathered in Veterans Memorial Park in North Chicago. "These raids are not law enforcement, they are fear enforcement, and I cannot go quietly into the night and let our city be the staging ground for inhumanity."</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Surrounded by signs and other officials, City of North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham, Jr. talks about the proposed use of Naval Station Great Lakes for federal military personnel, during a press conference at Veterans Memorial Park in North Chicago, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. Paul Valade/Daily Herald" srcset="https://ift.tt/WTFyEDh 1x,https://ift.tt/7ZKgHAi 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Surrounded by signs and other officials, City of North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham, Jr. talks about the proposed use of Naval Station Great Lakes for federal military personnel, during a press conference at Veterans Memorial Park in North Chicago on Friday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Paul Valade/Daily Herald</p></div></div>
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</div><p>A source familiar with operations at Naval Station Great Lakes said final approval hadn’t been granted to use the base to house federal agents carrying out immigration arrests.</p><p>Stratton and other lawmakers have said it’s difficult to formulate a plan to respond without knowing exactly what they’re up against. Still, Stratton predicted that federal agents would provoke protesters and create a crisis.</p><p>"When we exercise our right to peaceful protest, [Trump] will say we’ve gone too far," she said. "He’ll call in the National Guard and claim it’s the only way to restore order."</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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August 29, 2025 at 04:14PM
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