Illinois lawsuit over Trump's deployment of National Guard to Chicago dismissed, orders are no longer operational

The lawsuit over President Trump's attempt to deploy the National Guard in Chicago and Illinois is officially over after a judge dismissed the suit, declaring the administration's orders to be no longer operational.

The state of Illinois and city of Chicago sued the Trump Administration last fall  after the president sent hundreds of troops from Texas to a base in Elwood, Illinois, arguing they were needed to fight crime. Gov. JB Pritzker called the move an "unconstitutional invasion" of Chicago, and vowed to fight the use of the military in the city.

"I am not afraid. I am not afraid," Pritzker said at the time. "And I will not back down."

The deployment came at the same time the Department of Homeland Security sent thousands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to Chicago for a federal immigration crackdown dubbed Operation Midway Blitz.

A federal judge in Chicago blocked the National Guard deployment in October, even with troops in the area. Mr. Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act to deploy those troops, but never did.

The case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but by mid-November the Texas troops had been sent home as both sides waited for the justices to hear their arguments.

On Dec. 23, 2025, the Supreme Court rejected a bid by the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard to the Chicago area while the legal challenges continued. Their ruling did not touch on the lower courts' decision to block the government from putting those troops on the streets of Chicago and the surrounding area.

Finally, at the end of 2025, Trump confirmed the National Guard was officially leaving Chicago, as well as Los Angeles and Portland Oregon. The Congressional Budget Office estimated it cost taxpayers $21 million for the troops to be deployed here, even though they were never mobilized.

Monday the case was formally dismissed, when the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinoi ruled the lawsuit was moot.

Gov. JB Pritzker posted a statement on social media in the wake of the ruling, writing in part, "Today's order concluding Illinois v. Trump confirms what has been clear to the people of Illinois from the beginning — Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard to occupy our streets was a reckless and illegal abuse of power. I'm grateful to the court for siding with our communities and slowing the erosion of our democratic norms."

Pritzker also thanked Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, saying he "consistently stood up to defend the rights of our people and stop federal overreach." He also thanked Raoul's staff, saying they worked "around the clock to check Trump's march toward authoritarianism."

The Chicago Department of Law released a statement, writing, "We welcome the court's ruling today that the Trump Administration's deployment orders are no longer operational and cannot be used to federalize the National Guard. There was never a lawful basis to deploy the National Guard into Chicago for federal immigration enforcement.  The orders represented a federal overreach that threatened the local rule of law."

Full statement from Gov. JB Pritzker

Today's order concluding Illinois v. Trump confirms what has been clear to the people of Illinois from the beginning — Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard to occupy our streets was a reckless and illegal abuse of power. I'm grateful to the court for siding with our communities and slowing the erosion of our democratic norms.

I want to applaud Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul for securing this win in the courts as he has consistently stood up to defend the rights of our people and stop federal overreach. I also want to thank him and his staff for working around the clock to check Trump's march toward authoritarianism at every turn.

Communities should not have to live in fear of masked federal troops occupying their neighborhoods, and our brave National Guard members should not be used as political props. These are foundational principles of any healthy democracy, and the result in this case validates that belief.

While this is an important result, we know that the Trump Administration will continue to test the limits of its power no matter the cost to our communities. Illinois will keep standing up and fighting for the rights of our people.