CHICAGO (WGN) — The meter is running on a military deployment that’s yet to have any impact in Chicago.
On a military base an hour southwest of Chicago, National Guard soldiers from Texas are more than a month into a deployment. The Trump administration ordered troops to the area to protect federal property and personnel during immigration enforcement operations.
But service members have not yet left the base in a month for any official purpose because the Supreme Court has yet to decide if deploying U.S. troops in American cities is justified.
“They are somewhere, doing something, but I don’t know exactly what it is,” said David Harris, a former commanding general with the Illinois National Guard.
NewsNation affiliate WGN-TV spotted soldiers drilling and others being handed weapons. Others were spotted standing around, even goofing around. All soldiers, in theory, are on standby.
“Let’s not forget these are citizen soldiers called away from civilian life,” Harris added. “When you are away from home performing a mission, you want to be able to say, ‘Hey, I’m doing something worthwhile with my mission. I’m away from my family. I’m away from my job because I’m doing something worthwhile.’ I’m not sure that sitting around the barracks in Joliet or Marseilles can make them feel as though they are gainfully deployed.”
There’s also a price.
The military says 200 National Guard soldiers from Texas and 300 from Illinois have been federalized for the Chicago operation for 60 days. The left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies pegs the deployment cost at a minimum of $647 per day, per soldier.
The estimated total cost: $12.8 million.
“We want people to understand that it is their tax dollars paying for this and that money could be paying for any number of other things. Whether it’s other more important calls for the National Guard or keeping food stamps running,” said Lindsay Koshgarian with the Institute for Policy Studies.
While President Trump’s National Guard deployments have captured headlines—which could be part of the point—he doesn’t appear dissuaded by the legal challenges that have led to soldiers sitting around. The president has, in fact, hinted he could double down.
“If I wanted to I could if I wanted to use the Insurrection Act,” Trump said in a “60 Minutes” interview.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has applauded recent court victories as the elected leader lost control of the 300 Illinois National Guard soldiers who were part of this deployment when the president federalized the troops.
“(Trump) is trying to militarize major cities across this nation. Even though Greg Bovino is leaving, (United States Customs and Border Protection) agents and officers are leaving, it appears that they may be going to Charlotte, North Carolina and to New Orleans, Louisana” Pritzker said. “So, it’s not like Donald Trump has stopped his onslaught against Americans. He’s just continuing it and widening it to other cities.”
It remains unclear when the Supreme Court might rule on the legality of the National Guard deployments in Chicago and other cities.
WGN Investigates has repeatedly reached out to the Texas National Guard and the U.S. military’s Northern Command, which oversees the operation, for comment on the cost estimates and to ask whether some troops might be sent home early.
Neither agency has responded to multiple messages.