Will County Officials React to Staging of Trump’s Troops in Elwood
“County officials have been made aware by the State of Illinois and the Village of Elwood of the presence of Texas National Guard soldiers at the Army Reserve training facility in Elwood. We have received no information or coordination from the federal government about this deployment, including the scale of operations or the length of time they will be stationed at this facility.
“The arrival of the National Guard by the Trump Administration is an aggressive overreach. Our federal government moving armed troops into our community should be alarming to everyone.
“I will be coordinating with local leaders to make sure we are doing everything in our power to protect the rights of our residents and the safety of everyone. Hopefully, the federal court hearing on Thursday will end this attack on our community.”
State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., D-Elwood, said the federal implementation is misguided.
“Brave and dedicated members of the Illinois and Texas National Guard were federalized by the President and deployed to the 86th district yesterday,” he said in a press release.
“This ineffective plan does not address any of the real issues the residents of the 86th district are facing. Higher prices for everything from groceries to electricity. A job market that has slowed to a crawl. An energy grid that is struggling to keep up with demand. Instead, our communities, our families, and our neighbors will have their peace of mind taken from them by an act of political theater.
“There are actual issues the federal government could help solve with the money we are spending on this.
“We could change federal rules to better schedule barge traffic so resident commutes are not extended randomly. We could reopen the federal government and have a serious conversation about energy policy to bring electricity rates down for everyone. This administration could even come together and negotiate with congress to actually fix our immigration system.
“All of these are better ideas than what we are now witnessing.
“The strength of the people has always come from our willingness to roll up our sleeves, come up with the best plan, and work together. Armed troops on any street in America should be a crimson flag for any and every patriot. We should all be asking how exactly we have strayed so far from our ideals.
“Our founding fathers made it clear what path we should be on. We must stand together or we will fall alone.
“I am asking that we all take a breath and ask ourselves the question, ‘What would actually make our lives better.’ Then let’s do that instead.”
“Joliet should not be responsible for housing the unconstitutional deployment of federal troops. It’s vital the courts remain fair and focused, doing what is right by the people of our great state. I urge everyone in our community to remain calm and resist this effort in a peaceful manner.”
