Deploying National Guard to Chicago Could Cost $1.6m Daily, Experts Say
It has been estimated by experts that the daily cost of subjecting Chicago, among other U.S. cities, to military enforcement under President Donald Trump’s proposal could be close to $1.6 million. On Tuesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker suggested that deployment of the Texas National Guardmen to Chicago was imminent. However, this statement met with contradiction from Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office. While President Trump confirmed his intentions of dispatching National Guardmen to Chicago, he remained elusive about the timing of such a deployment.
An in-depth analysis suggests that deploying around 3,000 National Guard soldiers to Chicago could be a significant strain on taxpayers, tallying up to about $1,590,000 daily. Adding fuel to the fire, a federal judge on Tuesday declared Trump’s militaristic actions in Los Angeles to be unlawful. Dire warnings were given about the President’s attempt to morph the National Guard into a quasi law-enforcement agency under his command. However, it is yet to be seen if this judicial curb will be implemented.
President Trump has been hinting at mobilizing troops in Chicago for a while now, a sentiment which harks back to the militaristic interventions in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. the previous month. Trump has put his signature to an executive order requiring the Defense Department to play a more pronounced role in domestic policing. In a stinging ruling, Judge Breyer highlighted the illicit use of armed soldiers in California for law enforcement by the Pentagon, which is a direct violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.
Governor Pritzker fervently claimed, ‘This isn’t about combatting crime’. He views this act as President Trump’s frantic hunt to find reasons to militarize a politically opposing, ‘blue’ city in a ‘blue’ state, seemingly with an intention to subdue his political adversaries. According to FBI data from 2024, there are numerous U.S. cities where murder rates surpass those of Chicago. Furthermore, President Trump’s threat of military control extends to other cities with Democratic leadership.
A staggering comparison can be made with the estimated cost needed to provide shelter for all of Chicago’s unhoused individuals. The daily expense for this humane effort is estimated at about $383,000, which is merely one-fourth of what it would cost to deploy 3,000 National Guard members to the city. There’s a possibility that the real count of deployed troops could balloon even more. Consequently, the financial liability tethered to these military initiatives is likely to magnify.