* Derek Douglas, President of the Civic Committee and the Commercial Club of Chicago, speaking today at the governor’s press conference…

Deploying federal troops or federalizing the National Guard without engaging state and local government, business, philanthropic and community leaders - the ones who understand Chicago’s needs and are on the ground working daily to make our city safer - is unprecedented and unwarranted.

The Civic committee formed a public safety task force in 2022. And when we formed that task force, we reached out to the organizations and the leaders who are working in the public safety space for so many years. And we committed to standing by them in the good times and the bad to try to make this city as safe as possible and to identify ways for the business community to contribute to creating a safer Chicago for all with an emphasis on gun violence reduction.

Through those efforts, we work closely with the city, the county and the state, CPD, Chicago’s criminal justice system, and leaders, philanthropy and community-based violence intervention organizations in what we call a one table approach, and as many of the previous speakers have mentioned, we are making incredible progress on reducing gun violence in our city, even though we have a ways to go.

That said, we do believe there is a critical role for federal support that could benefit our city. What we need is aligned action. That’s what we have going on in Chicago.

What we don’t need are disruptions to our economy and our businesses. Active duty military patrolling the streets of our city sends the wrong message and risks slowing our economy and disrupting the progress we’ve made together. It will impact businesses’ bottom lines and ability to operate efficiently. It will impact tourism and employees getting to their jobs. It will impact morale.

The kind of sweeping, uncoordinated, indiscriminate action being threatened sets a dangerous precedent, and we stand with our city and all Chicagoans to encourage the administration to productively engage with us, to help us continue to make progress on this critical issue.

* More business types were subsequently quoted in the governor’s press release…

“Like any big city, Chicago faces its own challenges, but there is national narrative perpetuated by those who would rather see it fail and today is a showing of unity around a city and state that is meeting those challenges together,” said Joe Ferguson, President, Civic Federation of Chicago. “We are looking for partnership and support from the federal government, rather than stretching the rule of law to the breaking point. I hope Washington hears the voices of our business and civic leaders today when we say the National Guard is neither legally justified and that investment and partnership is what is needed to move this City and State to a better future.”

“The consideration of deploying National Guard troops to Chicago by the Trump Administration is detrimental to business,” said Jaime di Paulo, President & CEO, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “It conveys a negative impression to investors, customers, and workers, depicting our city as unsafe instead of showcasing its resilience and economic strength.” […]

“Chicago has made progress in improving public safety thanks to the leadership of Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson, and collaboration among business leaders, local law enforcement, violence prevention organizations, and community and faith groups,” said Jack Lavin, President and CEO of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

“We have seen how the sudden deployment of federal troops in other cities can needlessly disrupt communities and businesses, hurt local economies, and deter tourism. The best path forward is partnership and collaboration. If the federal government wants to work constructively with local leaders and community partners, we welcome that engagement to keep making progress toward a safer, stronger city.”

“As a business leader, and a proud Chicagoan, I’m fully invested in seeing our city thrive and while we still have work to do, collaborative efforts have led to significant progress on crime,” said Jim Reynolds, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Loop Capital.