This past weekend saw President Donald Trump once again suggest that he may deploy military force to combat crime in Chicago despite opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Yet in a move likely to infuriate Trump, Pritzker has claimed that White House leakers are providing him with details of the plan. 

Host points to report that Naval base will be used as an ICE staging area

According to Breitbart, the governor made that assertion during a Friday evening appearance on MSNBC's "The Briefing."

"There’s also — what seems — one of the challenges also seems like there [are] multiple operations they seem to be preparing, at least from what they’re saying publicly," host Jen Psaki was quoted as saying.

"There’s also been reporting that the Defense Department has approved using a nearby Naval base north of the city as a staging area for ICE," she continued.

So, that is not separate, it’s all connected — and possibly to have that as a place where federal troops are. Do you have any sense, even, of the scope of the ICE operation that they’re planning?" Psaki asked.

Pritzker cites "patriotic Americans" in Washington who "let us know things"

"Not from ICE," Pritzker said in response before adding that the information je and other officials are receiving is "all secondhand, thirdhand."

"There are a lot of patriotic Americans who work in the administration or work at the departments or in the military who have let us know things without having permission to do so. And so, I would call some of that rumor, but well-sourced rumors," he stressed.

In addition to his comments about getting leaked information from Washington, Pritzker also called on Chicago residents to monitor military and federal law enforcement personnel.

Governor to Chicago residents: "Take a video of everything"

"What we've asked is that people pull out their iPhone or their Android phone and film what they're seeing," the governor asserted.

Gov. Pritzker enlists the public's help: "What we've asked is that people pull out their iPhone or their Android phone and film what they're seeing. Take a video of everything so see so that we can know if, in fact, laws are being broken by these federal officials coming into our… pic.twitter.com/HNqqLumYaM

— The Briefing with Jen Psaki (@PsakiBriefing) September 6, 2025

"Take a video of everything so see so that we can know if, in fact, laws are being broken by these federal officials coming into our state," he declared.

Meanwhile, Pritzker seemed far less concerned about the ongoing death toll in Chicago, which saw 58 people shot and 8 murdered over Labor Day weekend.