Trump threats rattle Chicago restaurants and events
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Members of the National Guard in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. this week. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Image
President Trump's threats to send the National Guard and more immigration agents to Chicago have put local businesses and event organizers on edge.
Why it matters: Chicago businesses are hoping to avoid the fate of Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, where the arrival of troops was accompanied by declines in reservations, foot traffic and bookings at local restaurants and businesses and a drop in worker attendance.
Driving the news: Chicago kicks off a week of Mexican Independence Day celebrations this weekend, which Gov. JB Pritzker expects to be the target of stepped up raids.
- Organizers of Saturday's Mexican Independence Day Parade in Pilsen say they will proceed with the event but will station volunteers along the route with phones, radios and whistles to quickly report any issues.
- Next week's El Grito festival in Grant Park has been postponed due to ICE concerns.
What they're saying: "The presence of the National Guard will disrupt restaurant operations and create unnecessary fear amongst Chicago diners," Sam Toia, CEO of Illinois Restaurant Association, tells Axios.
- "Based on recent examples in Washington, D.C., the deployment will adversely affect consumer confidence and reduce business levels at a time when restaurants need pragmatic solutions that capitalize on current strides and focus on the future to ensure Chicago remains the culinary capital of the United States."
The other side: "People that haven't gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner, and the restaurants the last two days were busier than they've been in a long time," Trump recently claimed without evidence.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently offered a mixed-to-positive review of the "federal surge" in her city.
- This week, she signed a new order of cooperation with the feds, attributing a recent drop in crime to the surge, while also adding that "masked ICE agents" are "not working" and out-of-state military are "inefficient."
- Meanwhile, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing to end the National Guard's deployment in the nation's capital.
Zoom out: Food and hospitality businesses across the country are already hurting from immigration raids. This has led to calls for change from business leaders, including those at the Texas Restaurant Association, who lament labor shortages at hotels, restaurants and bars across the state.
By the numbers: While it's unclear how much the surges will eventually cost, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated a 60-day deployment in Los Angeles would cost $134 million.
- This week, Mayor Brandon Johnson noted in a social post that the same amount of money could be better used to "fund 30,000 more youth jobs, reopen every city mental health clinic, expand mental health crisis teams citywide and double Chicago's number of violence interrupters."
What's next: If and how a Chicago deployment would play out remains uncertain.
- On Wednesday, Trump suggested he may send troops to New Orleans first.
- But on Thursday, Pentagon sources confirmed to the Washington Post that the Great Lakes Naval Base has been approved for use a staging area.