Prairie State Wire

Steve Cortes, president of the League of American Workers, has criticized Illinois leadership for failing to protect residents and called for federal intervention, including the deployment of the National Guard. This statement was made in a provided communication.

"When governors refuse to protect their own citizens, the President must," said Cortes. "Pritzker's inaction is complicity; his progressive justice is a scam that punishes the innocent and rewards the violent. Trump's deployment of the National Guard isn't politics — it's patriotism. America deserves protection, not excuses."

According to CBS News Chicago, public safety under Governor J.B. Pritzker has involved both collaboration and conflict regarding National Guard use. Notably, there was a 2020 activation during civil unrest and a 2025 dispute with Washington after federal officials proposed deploying Guard units to Chicago. Pritzker and the state attorney general sued, arguing that the president lacked authority under the Insurrection Act. These events underscore Illinois's efforts to maintain local control while addressing urban crime.

USAFacts and NBC Chicago report that Illinois's violent crime rate stood at 289 per 100,000 residents in 2024, with aggravated assault accounting for more than half of offenses. Data from the Chicago Police Department indicate that homicides decreased by 31% and shootings by 37.4% year-to-date through August 2025, showing improvements over 2024 levels. The FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data and CPD reports confirm declines in major violent crimes both statewide and within the city.

CBS News highlights studies on prior National Guard deployments which show mixed outcomes: following an August 2025 Guard surge in Washington, D.C., violent crime fell compared to the same period in 2024. However, researchers caution against attributing causality solely to these deployments. Peer-reviewed analyses suggest little long-term reduction in crime rates while warning of strained community relations and limited deterrence benefits.

PolitiFact describes Steve Cortes as the founder and president of the League of American Workers, as well as a former Trump 2020 senior advisor and CNN commentator. His work focuses on immigration, public safety, and pro-worker populism, drawing from his career in finance and conservative media advocacy. He is recognized as a prominent spokesperson for nationalist economic policies.

The League of American Workers was founded by Cortes in 2022 to promote "pro-worker patriotic populism," according to its own reports. It operates as a policy advocacy organization concentrating on trade, immigration, and workforce reform while publishing policy briefs and campaigns under Cortes’s leadership. The League functions independently through private donations and media partnerships.