Pritzker says he would send National Guard to Chicago if asked

CHICAGO - Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says he would be willing to deploy the National Guard to Chicago to help deal with the surge in violent crime.

The governor says he has done it before and would do it again — if asked to do so.

Gov. Pritzker made the remark when responding to reporters’ questions after Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan called on him to issue a disaster declaration in Chicago.

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In the first two Republican debates, Chicago's street violence was the center of attention.

"Let's think about Chicago: a crime-ridden, corrupt, dysfunctional hellhole," said State Senator Darren Bailey.

All the candidates blamed Chicago’s bloody violence on Gov. JB Pritzker and other Democratic officials, with one mocking Mayor Lori Lightfoot's proposal to reduce it by making curfew an hour earlier.

"You don't simply address it by coming up with kneejerk rules – 'let's have a curfew' – that's not gonna stop crime. You gotta stop it by addressing it head on by what I call the three C’s: Children, Cops, Community," Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin said.

"I will lead the recall efforts for Kim Foxx and any other state's attorney who fails to prosecute criminals in the state of Illinois," said Jesse Sullivan.

"Four times more murders in Chicago, Illinois, last year than New York City," Gary Rabine said. "This is ridiculous. It's gotta be solved. I’ll have the backbone to stand up as a governor."