Executive Order 2025-06

October 23, 2025
Executive Order 2025-06

WHEREAS, President Trump has repeatedly targeted the State of Illinois for enacting laws, including the bipartisan TRUST Act, intended to establish and maintain trust between law enforcement and community members; and,

WHEREAS, last month, President Trump deployed the United States Department of Homeland Security (U.S DHS) to the Chicagoland area as part of an enforcement “blitz”; and,

WHEREAS, these federal agents have employed unprecedented, militarized tactics, causing widespread fear and intimidation and resulting in the detention of United States citizens; and,   

WHEREAS, the Illinois statute purportedly prompting this federal deployment took effect in 2017 when Bruce Rauner, the Republican Governor of Illinois, signed it into law; and,

WHEREAS, the purpose of the Illinois TRUST Act is to bolster community trust in and cooperation with local police by affirming that law enforcement agencies in Illinois are largely prohibited from participating in civil immigration enforcement; and,

WHEREAS, building trust between residents and local police is particularly crucial in immigrant communities where residents may be reluctant to engage with law enforcement agencies if they are fearful that such contact could result in deportation for themselves, their family, or their neighbors; and,

WHEREAS, this is true of not only undocumented individuals who may be concerned about their own immigration status, but also United States citizens who may be worried about their parents, their children, or other members of their family or loved ones who immigrated to the United States; and,

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2025, at the beginning of his second term, President Trump signed Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” The order targeted so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions” and asserted that these jurisdictions “seek to interfere with the lawful exercise of Federal law enforcement operations”; and,

WHEREAS, on January 26, 2025, U.S. DHS announced that it would undertake “enhanced targeted operations” in the City of Chicago; and,

WHEREAS, federal law enforcement then orchestrated a series of public raids, dubbed “Operation Safeguard,” throughout the Chicago area; and,

WHEREAS, during “Operation Safeguard,” federal law enforcement agents obscured their identities and covered their faces nearly entirely with masks; and,

WHEREAS, on September 6, 2025, President Trump threatened that he was about to go to “war” against the city of Chicago and posted an image of the Chicago skyline, on fire, on social media; and,

WHEREAS, the purpose of this post appears to have been to intimidate and threaten immigrant communities, as the original movie quote (“I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”) refers to the use of chemical weapons against civilians during the Vietnam War; and,

WHEREAS, on September 8, 2025, the Trump administration announced the launch of “Operation Midway Blitz”, purportedly to target “the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois”; and,

WHEREAS, as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” federal law enforcement agents have undertaken a series of military-style masked raids throughout the Chicagoland area that have included the use of flashbang grenades, low-flying helicopters, breaking into residential homes in the middle of the night, and detaining and zip-tying United States citizens; and,

WHEREAS, as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” federal law enforcement agents have used tear gas, rubber bullets, and other riot control weapons on peaceful protestors, journalists, faith-based leaders, and public bystanders in the Chicagoland area; and,

WHEREAS, as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” federal law enforcement agents have engaged in military patrols in downtown Chicago for the apparent purpose of arresting people based on “how they look,” in the words of Gregory Bovino, the United States Customs and Border Protection Commander of Operations; and,

WHEREAS, the following are examples of the violence directed at residents of Illinois over the course of “Operation Midway Blitz”:

On September 28, 2025, masked federal law enforcement agents conducted a warrantless arrest and then detained a family of four, including two young children, ages eight and three, while the family was sight-seeing in downtown Chicago;[1]

On September 30, 2025, masked federal law enforcement agents used a helicopter in conducting a raid of a building in the South Shore of Chicago, terrorizing United States citizens and immigrants, including families and children, with arrests in the middle of the night;[2]

On October 3, 2025, masked federal law enforcement agents threw a smoke grenade into a crowd of bystanders on a busy commercial street in the middle of the day;[3]

On October 14, 2025, masked federal law enforcement agents deployed tear gas at a crowd of bystanders in a residential neighborhood who came to the scene of a vehicle crash following a car chase;[4] and,

WHEREAS, “Operation Midway Blitz” has terrorized Illinois residents in their homes, at their workplaces, and on public streets;

THEREFORE, I, JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois, by virtue of the executive authority vested in me by the Illinois Constitution and laws of the State of Illinois, hereby order the following:

I.          ILLINOIS ACCOUNTABILITY COMMISSION

The Illinois Accountability Commission (“Commission”) is established.

II.         PURPOSE

The purpose of the Commission is to: (1) create a public record of the conduct of federal agents during “Operation Midway Blitz” and the Trump Administration’s military-style operations throughout the Chicagoland area; (2) examine the impact of that conduct on individuals and communities; and (3) consider policy recommendations to prevent future harm to these individuals and communities.

As part of this work, the Commission shall:

a. Determine the most effective manner in which the Commission can gather publicly-available videos documenting the actions of federal officers—including agents of U.S. DHS components (such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection) and other federal agents working in coordination with U.S. DHS—during “Operation Midway Blitz”;

b. Gather additional information and documentation, to the extent possible, of the actions of federal law enforcement and the impact of those actions, including through testimony;

c. Create a public record, including through public hearings, to document the conduct of federal officers during “Operation Midway Blitz” and its impact on Illinois residents;

d. Analyze the documented conduct of federal officers during “Operation Midway Blitz” and identify conduct requiring the most urgent corrective action and remediation based on its impact on the community and the egregiousness of the conduct;

e. Make recommendations for law or policy changes to ensure greater protection for Illinois residents from violations of their rights and to ensure community safety;

f. Provide, not later than January 31, 2026, an initial status report outlining its findings and recommendations to the Governor, and, not later than April 30, 2026, any supplementary reports the Commission deems appropriate; and

g. Refer, as appropriate, information or reports of potential violations of law to the agencies or entities responsible for investigating or enforcing such violations.

III.       MEMBERSHIP, TERM, STAFF SUPPORT, AND EXPERT ENGAGEMENT

a. The Commission shall be composed of a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson, and up to seven (7) additional members, for a total membership of up to nine (9) Commission members. All Commission members shall be appointed by the Governor. The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and the Commission members shall serve without compensation.

b. The term of each Commission member shall expire one year from the date of their appointment. Commissioners may be reappointed or replaced at the pleasure of the Governor.

c. The Commission shall dissolve one year after the date of this Order unless extended by the Governor.

d. The Illinois Department of Human Rights shall provide administrative and professional staff support to the operations of the Commission.

e. In addition to support from the Department of Human Rights, the Commission may, as it determines appropriate, work with subject matter experts, as well as non-profit organizations, to ensure it has access to appropriate staffing and expertise to conduct its review and analysis of the actions of federal law enforcement.

IV.       SAVINGS CLAUSE

Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to contravene any federal or State law or regulation.  Nothing in this Executive Order shall affect or alter the existing statutory powers of any State agency.

V.        SEVERABILITY

If any provision of this Executive Order or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, this invalidity does not affect any other provision or application of this Executive Order which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. To achieve this purpose, the provisions of this Executive Order are declared to be severable.

VI.       EFFECTIVE DATE

This Executive Order shall take effect immediately upon its filing with the Secretary of State.

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