Judge Dismisses Illinois Lawsuit Against Trump

A federal judge dismissed Illinois’ lawsuit over Donald Trump’s attempted National Guard deployment on April 20, ruling the case was moot after the deployment orders were no longer in effect. (nbcchicago.com) U.S. District Judge April Perry threw out the case in the Northern District of Illinois after the Trump administration asked for dismissal. Illinois and the city of Chicago had sued on October 6, 2025, after Trump ordered Guard troops into the state during a federal immigration operation called “Operation Midway Blitz.” (courtlistener.com, nbcchicago.com) The dispute started with two kinds of troops: about 400 Texas National Guard members sent toward Illinois and roughly 300 Illinois Guard members federalized over Gov. JB Pritzker’s objections. Some troops reached a base in Elwood, southwest of Chicago, but courts stopped them from being used on patrol or federal-property missions in Illinois. (patch.com, patch.com, capitolnewsillinois.com) The legal fight turned on when a president can use military force inside a state. Illinois argued federal law allows that only in narrow situations such as invasion, rebellion, or when regular law enforcement cannot carry out federal law. (patch.com, abcnews.go.com) Perry blocked the deployment in October 2025, writing there was “no credible evidence” of rebellion in Illinois and no showing that civilian authority had failed. A Seventh Circuit panel later let troops remain in the state under federal control for the moment, but barred their operational use while the appeal moved forward. (abcnews.go.com, patch.com, courtlistener.com) The Supreme Court then rejected the administration’s emergency bid on Dec. 23, 2025, to put Guard troops on the streets in the Chicago area while the case continued. By then, Texas troops had already been sent home, and the administration later said the deployment orders were no longer operational. (cbsnews.com, patch.com, nbcchicago.com) Chicago’s Law Department said the April 20 ruling confirmed the deployment orders “are no longer operational and cannot be used to federalize the National Guard.” Pritzker said the original deployment was “a reckless and illegal abuse of power.” (nbcchicago.com) Trump has kept arguing he has authority to use the Guard to support immigration enforcement and said he could try again in Illinois or elsewhere “in a much different and stronger form.” The case is over, but the fight over how far a president can go with troops inside U.S. cities is not. (nbcchicago.com)