In a hot gymnasium on Chicago’s South Side, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Thursday morning he’s running for a potentially historic third term as governor.
In his announcement speech, Pritzker said he is running to “protect” the story he’s been telling about Illinois — one that has been built largely in opposition to the politics of President Donald Trump.
Pritzker said his third term would focus on grappling with artificial intelligence, addressing the rising cost of living, continued spending on infrastructure and growing the state’s economy.
The field house at Grand Crossing Park where Pritzker launched his first campaign hosted a crowd of Pritzker’s invited supporters, including Democratic party officials, campaign operatives and long-time Pritzker supporters.
Pritzker’s message has often focused on what Democrats need to do to win and push back on Trump, including addressing economic issues for the middle class and being outspoken against Trump’s policies.
“While it is certainly tempting to lay all of this at the feet of the megalomaniac narcissist in the White House and his malignant clown car in Congress, the hard truth is, we all share some of the blame,” Pritzker said.
The governor said “we must reckon with the fact that everything is too damned expensive,” but taking a shot at Republicans, said enacting budget cuts to key government programs like Medicaid that make life more affordable for people shouldn’t be the solution.
The governor also said a third term would continue his past efforts to protect abortion rights, diversity programming in the private sector and teachers’ ability to teach “uncensored history.”
Pritzker’s progressive stances on hot-button national issues are part of what has grown his national profile since President Donald Trump took office in January.
The governor has been one of the president’s most vocal Democratic critics and his schedule has been loaded with national media interviews and campaign speeches around the country.
A successful reelection could set the stage for a bigger one: Pritzker’s speculated 2028 presidential campaign.
Pritzker on Thursday downplayed the possibility when speaking to reporters but didn’t explicitly rule it out.
“Everything that I do, truly everything that I do, in my job and every day when I wake up is about improving the lot of the people who live in the state of Illinois, lifting up the working families of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “Whatever I do going forward is going to be about that.”
By Ben Szalinski & Andrew Adams
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.