Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker, allowing his "ego" to govern, is leading a leftist crusade against President Donald Trump's law-and-order crackdown, with deleterious results, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
"For 13 consecutive years, Chicago had more murders than any other American city," Noem told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "In fact, just last year, in 2024, they had three times the amount of murders than LA did, five times more than New York City.
"So he can talk about what a great job he's doing as governor, but he's failing those families who will no longer have their child with them, their mother or their father or their cousin, aunt, and uncle that are gone forever because of the violence that's happening in Chicago."
Noem noted, as the former governor of deep-red South Dakota, she worked with the Biden administration and did not obstruct it like Democrats are vowing to do with Trump.
"When I had disagreements with the Biden administration or challenges my people were facing, I called up the Biden administration," she continued. "I went and talked to them. I asked for meetings. I fought for my people.
"This seems like it's more about Gov. Pritzker's ego, now, rather than actually protecting his people."
She urged Pritzker to ask for help instead of summarily rejecting it in the name of politics, Noem concluded.
"If he has one murder in the city of Chicago, he should be calling President Trump and saying, what's your ideas? What can we do?" Noem said. "They don't even honor our detainers in Chicago. They don't go out there and work with us to make sure we're bringing people to justice. And instead, he goes on TV and he attacks me when we're doing exactly what those people need. They need someone to help them get the dangerous criminals off their streets.
"And if he has one, two, five, or 10, those victims and their families deserve to walk in freedom on those streets and not have to worry about what's going to happen to them on their way to their jobs."
All Democrat-run cities and states dealing with rampant crime, including illegal immigration, need help, not a political campaign, she concluded.
"I'd encourage every single big city, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, whatever they are, if they want to help make their city safer, more prosperous, allow people the opportunity to walk in freedom, like the people of Washington, D.C., are now, and enjoying going out to eat at night and not having to worry if they're going to be a victim of a carjacking or a robbery, they should call us," Noem said.
"Because we will work with anybody and do what we can to make sure that we're upholding our Constitution, upholding the law, but making sure their families are safe."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.