SCHNEIDER VISITS NAVAL STATION GREAT LAKES, PROVIDES UPDATE ON TRUMP THREAT TO CHICAGO

NORTH CHICAGO - Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10) joined Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth on a visit and tour of Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, which is expected to base homeland security agents and National Guard troops should President Trump follow through on his threat to send them to Chicago. Schneider and the Senators held a news conference following the visit. Schneider's remarks as delivered are below.

"I just want to reiterate what the senators have said before. And I want to thank the senators for working together to make sure we protect the mission of Naval Station Great Lakes and protect the people we represent. I'll touch on the Navy base, I'll touch on the deployment of ICE, and where we'll go from here.

"I'm proud to represent Naval Station Great Lakes. Proud to be here with Mayor Rockingham, the Mayor of North Chicago. It is the largest training center of the United States Navy. Every single Navy recruit who enlists in the United States Navy comes to Great Lakes for basic training at any given time.

"As Senator Durbin mentioned, up to 1,000 people are graduating each week. There are 10 to 12,000 recruits on base going through basic training, learning to become sailors, essential for the security of our nation. In addition, there are what are called "A" schools.

"There are sailors who are getting their training before they are deployed for their specific job in the Navy. They come back and they get reinforcement and new training. The preparedness of our Navy, the security of our nation, depends on the mission of Naval Station Great Lakes.

"We need to make sure that what DHS does while they're - for 30 days - at the base does not get in the way of that mission. And that was our first focus, to make sure that the mission of Naval Station Great Lakes, the preparedness of our Navy, preparedness of our sailors are maintained at the highest level at all times.

"The second point I'll make is that what we're seeing around the country is this administration working to scare and terrorize our communities, to send people in without insignia, designations of what agency or what service they're with.

"Covering their faces with masks is doing nothing more than terrorizing and scaring people. It's not making us safer or more secure, but putting a wedge in our communities.

"That needs to stop. It needs to stop right now. As far as - and the Senator touched on this, as well - as far as crime in our communities, if the President wanted to focus on the crime, the states with the most crime, eight of the 10 states with the highest crime rate are Republican, but it's not a Republican or Democratic issue.

"We need to address crime in our country. We need to make sure our communities are safe and secure.

"If the President wants to work with us in Congress to make sure our communities are safe and secure, he could release the $158 million he's holding up to address gun violence in this country. He could release the $800 million he is holding up to help our communities, our police departments, protect our communities, to fight violent crime, to invest in those.

"We need more social workers in our schools. We need more police. We need more first responders. That's how we fight crime.

"Not sending in National Guard who have a mission to protect our nation in other ways, to go into our cities and terrorize people, but working with our communities together, hand in glove, investing in our first responders, giving police the resources, the people, the training, the resources they need to keep our communities safe.

"That's not what this administration is doing. They're deflecting, trying to keep the eye of the American people away from the damage they're doing to our economy. Costs aren't down to our security. Watch what's happening around the world. That's what we should be focused on.

"This administration should not be sending National Guard to Chicago but should be working with Chicago and other cities around the country, making sure they're safe and secure.

"It's now my privilege to turn it over to the mayor of North Chicago."

A recording by the Associated Press of the press conference can be found here.

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