Illinois quick hits: Trump to decided on Guard deployment; alleged cartel boss indicted

September 8, 2025/

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By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

Trump to decided on Guard deployment

President Donald Trump says he will make a decision in the next day or two about where he would deploy the National Guard next to fight crime.

The president said Sunday that Washington, D.C. is much safer since he deployed troops there last month.

Trump also said that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker does not care about crime.

Alleged cartel boss indicted

A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted an alleged co-leader of a violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico on narcoterrorism, drug and firearm charges.

Prosecutors say Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, 50, also known as “El Musico,” oversaw the importation of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and other drugs, at times in individual shipments of hundreds or thousands or kilograms, into the United States on behalf of the Beltran Leyva faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Gastelum Iribe is not in custody and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Johnson names alderman’s son to fill seat

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has named vice mayor and former alderman Walter Burnett’s son to replace him on the city council.

Walter Redmond Burnett spent five years at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker and Acquisition Associate.

His father was alderman from 1995 until his retirement last month.

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