Mayor Brandon Johnson has never been more correct than when he stated his standoff with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago is a replay of the Civil War. The only problem is his grip of history is a bit weak. Johnson’s position that the city of Chicago can block the enforcement of federal immigration law in Chicago puts him in the position of the founders of the Confederacy.
The Confederates took the position that states’ rights allowed them to nullify federal law inside their borders. This included potential federal laws regarding slavery. They tried to leave the Union and took up armed resistance. President Abraham Lincoln called for troops to enforce the law. Trump is doing the same.
Trump is certainly not Lincoln. It took the unique genius of Johnson to squarely put him in that role.
— Ronald W. Cobb Jr., Lusak and Cobb P.C., Chicago
Editorial flawed in framing
Regarding the editorial “We need our leaders to stay cool as ICE-related chaos gets hot” (Oct. 7): I much appreciated the Tribune Editorial Board’s call for cool heads and prudent caution in these fraught and unprecedented days of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents and now National Guard troops sent to our city by the Donald Trump administration, over the objections of our governor and mayor.
The editorial accurately names how distressing and unnerving these events are for the vast majority of Chicagoans. I would like to point out, however, a significant flaw in the framing of the argument: The representatives of “the left” who are viewed as extreme (i.e., protesters in Brighton Park who allegedly chased ICE agents with their cars on Saturday) are not officials of our government, but private citizens who made certain choices. By contrast, the representatives of “the right” who are being set in contrast to these private actors are the armed agents of the United States government who laid siege to an apartment building in South Shore and tear-gassed a civilian street in Logan Square on a Friday afternoon, etc.
Keeping level-headed these days requires factual accuracy and analytical precision about the disproportionate nature of what the editorial board characterizes as “the provocateurs on both the right and the left.” The former are not private vigilantes, but agents of the U.S. government who are now roving our city.
— Margaret M. Mitchell, Chicago
Struggling with despair
While I generally strive to be a good Christian and forgive the trespasses of others, I must confess to finding it increasingly difficult in the face of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ongoing incursions across our city and the imminent deployment of troops to our streets. Seeing federal agents abandon their sworn oaths to uphold the Constitution and rule of law, it is hard not to succumb to despair, rage or both. I cannot be the only Chicagoan right now struggling to resist the instinct to meet force with force.
If nothing else, the experiences of the past two weeks have given me fresh respect for President Abraham Lincoln and his astonishing forbearance and mercy at the conclusion of our Civil War. Somehow, the first Republican president resisted the urge to have every last faithless traitor and rebel slaver shot or hanged. In these unprecedented times, I cleave to his example in the hope that our nation’s constitutional order can and will be restored by peaceful means. But I fear that we may yet be forced to fight for it.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” as another Republican president, Ronald Reagan, warned. “We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream; it must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
I pray that we the people prove able to meet the moment lest we be condemned to tell our children, and our children’s children, what it was like in the America where people once were free.
— John C. Engle, Chicago
Mayor, governor’s example
If anyone wonders why some of the citizens of Chicago are behaving so badly, you need only look at the mayor and governor. Both have a very bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. To implicitly suggest violence and place citizens at risk is unconscionable and, at a minimum, a dereliction of their duty. They should be ashamed.
I was born and raised in Illinois and lived there until 2016. I’m so happy to have left.
— Pamela J. Cook, Elgin, Texas
Applause for Gov. Pritzker
As a lawyer, the most important thing I have always hoped for in a judge is that she will be impartial. That, of course, doesn’t mean my client will prevail in the case, but it does mean they will get a fair hearing. I also expect a judge to recognize that her rulings have real-world implications for the parties involved. And when one of the parties is, as a practical matter, the president of the United States, the implications can be immediate and incredibly broad. A judge cannot rule in a vacuum, ignoring what is going on around her.
That is unfortunately what federal Judge April Perry appears to have done in her decision not to grant a restraining order temporarily blocking National Guard deployment to Illinois.
The potential damage in the next few days until she makes a decision could be extensive, irreparable and reach well beyond Illinois. On the other hand, the risk to the president in having his actions put on hold seems remote.
I know that we in Ohio and other states watch with great trepidation as Donald Trump moves forward with his politically motivated plans for military involvement in local issues. Ohio has a Republican governor who is highly unlikely to take any steps to slow Trump’s march toward autocracy. As a proud Chicago-born individual who has spent most of his life in Cleveland (but has many relatives still residing in greater Chicago), I can only applaud Gov. JB Pritzker from afar and cross my fingers that Perry’s initial ruling and all those to follow don’t cause harm in my hometown or elsewhere.
— Stephen F. Gladstone, Cleveland, Ohio
A show of brute force
I live in Greensboro, North Carolina, and I am deeply disturbed by the military-style maneuvers taking place in Chicago. The videos and newscasts circulating online and on our televisions — showing individuals wearing military uniforms, helicopters landing on residential rooftops and even young children being zip-tied — are alarming. No American citizen should ever feel endangered by those sworn to protect them.
At the age of 79, I have lived through many crises in this country. My father is a decorated World War II veteran. What is happening now is a slap in the face to him and to all veterans who fought and died for American freedom. As well as all Americans who have fought for equal rights for everyone.
These scenes show that American forces are turning against their own people. America, where is your voice? Where is your leadership? I urge standing with Gov. JB Pritzker, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other political leaders who are speaking out against this blatant show of brute force in our cities — a movement that threatens the very fabric of our democracy.
We need American citizens to show their leadership and public condemnation of these actions. Please call for investigations, hold news conferences and make it clear that this kind of terrorization has no place in America.
— Donna Martin, Greensboro, North Carolina
Where are their badges?
The prospect of the National Guard coming to Chicago is not nearly as disturbing as our current occupation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We know National Guardsmen have been through the official and rigorous vetting and training by the Army. But who are these ICE agents? Where are they being drawn from? Are we even allowed to know?
With their masked faces and homemade uniforms, they function as little more than Donald Trump-sanctioned vigilantes. Where are their badges, credentials and warrants?
— John Vicars, Oak Park
How much is this costing?
What is the cost of deploying military units to Los Angeles, Washington, Portland and now Chicago?
How much for Immigration and Customs Enforcement?
These amounts have to be in the millions of dollars for each month. The public needs to know how much is being added to the deficit.
— Kenneth E. Dallmeyer, Park Ridge
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/08/letters-100825-ice-chicago-mayor/