(CT) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration said Tuesday night that it “is putting the (Illinois National) Guard in a state of readiness” to ensure members are available as Kentucky’s attorney general is expected to announce whether he’ll file charges in the controversial police killing of Breonna Taylor.
The Louisville woman’s death has been a central theme for protests in several U.S. cities this summer against police brutality. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot met Tuesday morning and discussed the issue, the governor’s office said in a statement.
“As the governor has always said, all of the state’s resources are available to municipalities if needed; this includes additional Illinois State Police troopers and the National Guard,” the statement read in part. A source said more than 100 Guard members are preparing.
If needed to respond, the Guard members would fall under the direction of the state police, just as they were when they helped during civil unrest in Chicago following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day. The deaths of Taylor and Floyd sparked outrage in Louisville, Minneapolis,
and other U.S. cities, leading to protests and a renewed national conversation about systemic racism and law enforcement’s treatment of Black Americans. But cities including Chicago also endured looting and other civil unrest. READ MORE