Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker reacted with caution Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s comments that he planned to deploy National Guard troops to a city and state where they would be welcomed to deter crime, unlike Chicago where Pritzker and local officials have called a presidential troop mobilization unnecessary, illegal and unwarranted.

As it advertised its so-called Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, the Department of Homeland Security used social media to broadcast a now-familiar refrain.

Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly formally announced his intent Wednesday to take on Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in the March 2026 Democratic primary, arguing that “Cook County government is broken and is long overdue for change.”

In a surprise result, Chief Judge Tim Evans is out as the leader of the Cook County judiciary, losing to Judge Charles Beach.

Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination carried out from a rooftop. A person of interest was in custody, officials said.

Current and former elected officials who have experienced political violence directly in the United States reacted with sympathy and horror Wednesday to the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at an event in Utah. Kirk served as chief executive and cofounder of the youth organization Turning Point USA.

A jury was selected Wednesday in the trial of a man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump while he played golf last year in South Florida.