Illinois files lawsuit to block deployment of National Guard
Demonstrators march through downtown Chicago, chanting and waving signs opposing ICE and troop deployment during an emergency protest on September 30, 2025 in Chicago. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(CHICAGO) — The state of Illinois and city of Chicago filed a lawsuit Monday morning seeking to block President Donald Trump’s federalization and deployment of the National Guard.
“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor,” the complaint said.
The foundational principle separating the military from domestic affairs is “in peril” as President Trump seeks to deploy the National Guard to cities across the country, lawyers for Illinois and Chicago wrote in a lawsuit.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys are asking a federal judge to issue an order blocking any state’s National Guard from being federalized and deployed to Illinois, arguing the state is being targeted because its “leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor.”
“There is no insurrection in Illinois. There is no rebellion in Illinois. The federal government is able to enforce federal law in Illinois. The manufactured nature of the crisis is clear,” according to the 69-page complaint.
Attorneys for Illinois and Chicago argue that Trump has failed to justify taking over the National Guard based on federal law — which allows a federalization in response to a rebellion or invasion — and violates the Posse Comitatus Act prohibiting the use of the military in domestic law enforcement.
“Defendants’ unlawful deployment of the Illinois National Guard, over the objection of the state, is similar to the unlawful course of conduct they have taken against other disfavored states and cities,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit cites Trump’s social media posts about sending militarized law enforcement to Chicago — including a post in which he said, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning” — and his recent comments about using Democratic-led cities “as training grounds for our military.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Law enforcement at the scene of a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colo., Sept. 10, 2025. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
(EVERGREEN, Colo.) — A student who authorities say opened fire at his Colorado high school, wounding two classmates and then turning the gun on himself, has died, according to the local sheriff’s office.
The gunfire at Evergreen High School broke out at about 12:24 p.m., according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Three students were taken to the hospital in critical condition following the gunfire, including the suspected shooter, who was injured by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office confirmed the suspect died in a post on social media Wednesday evening.
Authorities have not publicly released his identity.
One of the wounded students with non-life-threatening injuries was released Wednesday night, with the second wounded student remaining in critical condition, hospital officials said on Thursday.
A fourth student was also transported to the hospital, but with an unknown injury, authorities said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was “devastated” by the shooting.
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families as they grapple with this senseless act of violence,” Polis said.
After the shooting, the school was placed in a lockdown and officials swept the campus.
“This is the scariest thing you’d think could ever happen,” said sheriff’s office spokesperson Jacki Kelley at an earlier news conference.
Kelley said she could not provide any other details about the suspected shooter, including the suspect’s age or gender.
“I don’t know if our suspect is even old enough to drive,” Kelley said.
She said authorities were seeking a warrant for the student’s home and locker.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect was armed with a revolver handgun.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI was “aware on the tragic situation unfolding near Denver,” with officials providing “full support of local authorities to ensure everyone’s safety.”
After the shooting, hundreds of police officers were on the scene searching each room on campus, according to law enforcement.
Parents were asked to reunite with students at Bergen Meadow Elementary.
The Aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights, is seen at Cleveland Dam Park on June 03, 2025 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Andrew Chin/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Another dazzling display of northern lights could be visible Monday night with the prediction of a minor geomagnetic storm, according to space weather experts.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center has forecasted a minor geomagnetic storm that could produce auroras in more than a dozen U.S. states.
People in states like Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine could see the northern lights, according to NOAA’s aurora viewline map.
Some of the northernmost states could witness more displays on Tuesday night, the map shows.
The auroras could appear especially vibrant due to the current phase of the moon.
This week, the moon is expected to rise in the early morning hours, which will make the night sky appear even darker. Streaks of pinks and greens may be more visible against the dark canvas.
The best times to see the northern lights in the U.S. will be between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., according to NOAA.
Northern lights occur when atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere clash with a solar flare, which causes the atoms in the upper atmosphere to glow, creating a spectrum of color in the night sky.
In October, the sun’s magnetic field reached the solar maximum phase in its 11-year cycle, according to NASA. The increase in number of sunspots and intensity of magnetic activity from the sun has led to more northern lights activity over the past year.
Sunspots with intense magnetic activity are expected to last through 2026, according to NOAA.
The Space Weather Prediction Center recommends traveling away from city lights and traveling to the darkest location possible for the best viewing.
Smartphones and digital cameras may be able to capture the light shows even if they are not visible to the naked eye because they are more sensitive to the array of colors, according to NASA.
The citizen science platform Aurorasaurus allows users to sign up for alerts of northern lights that are being seen in real time, based on user reports.
At least five people have been killed and 30 others injured in shootings across Chicago over Labor Day weekend, including a drive-by attack that left seven victims wounded late Saturday night, according to police.
The violent holiday weekend came as President Donald Trump renewed threats to send federal agents and National Guard troops to Chicago over the objections of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Trump on Saturday sent a warning to the Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in a post on his social media platform, referencing recent crime in Chicago and saying Pritzker “better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!”
Illinois Gov. Pritzker, a Democrat, responded in a news conference a week ago to an earlier Trump threat to “straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C.,” by saying that the president’s plan was “unprecedented and unwarranted. It is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is un-American.”
Mayor Johnson responded last week by saying in part that he had “grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the city of Chicago,” and calling Trump’s approach “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound.” Johnson also said that deploying the National Guard in Chicago could “inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement.”
On Saturday, Mayor Johnson signed an executive order dubbed the “Protecting Chicago Initiative,” which he described in a news conference as “the most sweeping campaign of any city in the country to protect ourselves from the threats and actions of this out-of-control administration,” and which “directs our department of law to pursue any and every legal mechanism to hold this administration accountable for violating the rights of Chicagoans.”
“We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city sees some type of militarized activity by the federal government,” Johnson said, in part. “We take these threats seriously and we find ourselves in a position where we must take immediate, drastic action to protect our people from federal overreach.”
At least 20 separate shootings occurred in Chicago between 10:32 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Sunday morning, according to a review by ABC News of police incident reports published online.
The victims included a 17-year-old girl who was inside her home when a bullet came through a front window and hit her in the arm, a 31-year-old man who was shot in the leg after getting caught in the crossfire of gunmen shooting at each other from two vehicles, and a 25-year-old woman who was shot and injured while driving down a street, all according to the incident reports.
Fewer than five hours after Trump posted a message on social media on Saturday criticizing Pritzker’s handling of crime in Chicago, a mass shooting occurred in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago’s South Side that left seven people wounded.
“He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!,” Trump said in his post about Pritzker.
The shooting in Bronzeville occurred about 11:10 p.m. on Saturday on South State Street, according to police. A group of people were gathered outside in the area when a vehicle drove by and at least one occupant opened fire on the crowd. All seven people shot, five men and two women ranging in age from 28 to 32, were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries to their lower extremities, police said. No suspects have been arrested.
The first of five homicides that police say occurred over the long holiday weekend happened at 11:56 p.m. on Friday at the South Shore apartment complex on East Essex Street, where two women were discovered shot, according to police.
A 25-year-old woman was found in the apartment suffering from two gunshot wounds to her stomach and one to her leg, according to a police incident report. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, according to authorities. The victim’s name was not immediately released.
The second victim, a 23-year-old woman, suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and was in fair condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Investigators were interviewing a person of interest in the East Essex Street homicide but no arrests have been announced, according to police.
Elsewhere, two men were shot, one fatally, in the East Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago around 11 a.m. on Saturday, according to police. The victims were standing outside on North Sawyer Avenue when a dark SUV approached them and a gunman exited the vehicle and opened fire, according to a police incident report.
A 29-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was shot multiple times and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The second victim, a 32-year-old man, suffered a gunshot wound to his right side and was in stable condition at Mount Sinai, police said. No arrests have been announced in the incident.
Also on Saturday, gunfire erupted in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood. Around 7:46 p.m., a 43-year-old woman was standing outside on E. 131st Street when five armed men approached her and opened fire, striking her multiple times, according to police. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to Christ Hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said.
No arrests have been announced in the Altgeld Gardens homicide.
Around 1:39 a.m. on Sunday, a 46-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was killed in a triple shooting that occurred in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago’s Lower West Side, according to police. The victims were standing on West 17th Street when a gunman walked up to them and opened fire, police said.
The two other victims, a 41-year-old man and a 43-year-old man, suffered gunshot wounds to their legs and were in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
Around 2:52 a.m. on Sunday, a 33-year-old man was killed in the West Inglewood neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago, police said. The victim got into a argument inside a residence with a man who shot him in the head, according to police. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. No arrests were announced.
The series of shootings came after President Donald Trump said last week that he is prepared to order National Guard troops to American cities in addition to those in the nation’s capital, but that he wanted local officials to request his help.
Trump threatened to make Chicago the next city he would target after he declared what he said was a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., and he put the city’s police force under federal control on Aug. 11.
Violent crime in Chicago has dropped significantly in the first half of the year, according to official data released by the city. Shootings are down 37% and homicides have dropped by 32% compared to the first half of 2024, while total violence crime dropped by over 22%, according to the crime statistics.
“Do not come to Chicago, you are neither wanted here nor needed here,” Pritzker further said in response to Trump during a news conference last week. “Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city to punish its dissidents and score political points. If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is – a dangerous power-grab.”
