‘I have work to do,’ Pritzker says in launching third-term reelection
bid
[June 27, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski and Andrew Adams
CHICAGO — 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.
From reelection to presidential election?
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.”
He had a small taste of presidential campaigning last year when he was
considered as a running mate for former Vice President Kamala Harris,
then served as a surrogate.
“You don’t get on that list unless they think you actually could be
president of the United States and do the job if you had to,” Pritzker
told reporters last year.
As some Democrats have tried finding a centrist message, Pritzker has
stayed in the left lane. He condemned politicians, without mentioning
specific names, who abandon their core beliefs for political gain.
“Of all the unbecoming qualities that Americans hate in their
politicians – they hate cowardice the most,” Pritzker said. “I’d rather
lose standing up for what I believe in than win by selling out those who
believed in me.”
As Pritzker rattled off a list of accomplishments in his more than six
years as governor, his message remained the same as it has since he
launched his first campaign in 2017 to unseat an unpopular Republican
incumbent: fight.
“Let me be clear: There is no Mission Accomplished banner to stand under
today,” Pritzker said alluding to a premature victory declaration former
President George W. Bush made in a 2003 speech regarding military action
in Iraq. “Yes, we have addressed so many of our old problems – but new
ones always arise. History is an endless relay race. Our job is not to
look for the finish line but to protect the baton as we run our assigned
leg. But we have work to do. I have work to do.”
Pritzker argued his success has come through embracing his role as a
cheerleader for the state, recalling the negative perceptions of
Illinois, such as the prevalence of corruption and unbalanced budgets,
that had consumed state politics.
“When I was first elected, I told you I was prepared to be a happy
warrior on behalf of our state, even if it meant going it alone,”
Pritzker said. “I suited up to face the carnival barkers and misery
spelunkers and doom grifters. I handed out optimism like a shot of
Malört – as a swift jolt to the heart.”
First three-term Democrat?
The 60-year-old Democrat enters the race as the favorite, having
received more than 54% of the vote in the 2018 and 2022 elections.
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Gov. JB Pritzker announces he will run for a third term as Illinois
governor at a June 26 rally. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew
Adams)
An heir to a fortune built on the Hyatt Hotel chain, Pritzker’s net
worth sits at $3.7 billion as of Thursday, according to Forbes. His vast
personal wealth makes him one of the richest politicians in American
history and gives him a significant leg up on competitors. Pritzker
dumped $350 million into his first two campaigns and has never taken
outside contributions.
Separately, Pritzker has used an undisclosed amount of his personal
fortune to fund a political action committee, Think Big America, to
support abortion rights in other states.
Pritzker is also entering unchartered territory for Illinois governors.
If he completes his current term, he would be the first Democrat to
serve two full terms in modern state history. If he wins reelection, he
would be the only governor to serve more than two terms since Republican
Gov. Jim Thompson served four terms from 1977 until 1991.
Pritzker will need a new running mate first, however, as Lt. Gov.
Juliana Stratton is running for U.S. Senate. Pritzker did not announce a
running mate Thursday.
Pritzker’s governing record
The governor’s top priority for his second term was to eliminate child
care deserts and make preschool more accessible. Since he was sworn in
in January 2023, the state has implemented Pritzker’s Smart Start
initiative to expand preschool offerings around the state and has begun
to phase in a new Department of Early Childhood.
When asked about those goals after his speech Thursday, Pritzker said
there were an “awful lot of things” that his administration still needed
to accomplish.
“We still need to get to universal preschool. We’re on our way. It’ll
happen probably in 2027,” Pritzker said.
But Pritzker pointed to several of his progressive policy wins Thursday,
in his speech and when speaking to reporters.
He has signed legislation raising the minimum wage to $15, legalizing
recreational cannabis, banning assault weapons and numerous new
protections of abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned three
years ago. Pritzker also passed landmark legislation to phase out fossil
fuels in the electricity sector.
Pritzker repeatedly brought up cleaning up Illinois’ fiscal house. The
state has recorded budget surpluses in recent years and has received
nine credit upgrades since he took office.
But challenges are also growing. The budget has gotten tighter, and
lawmakers have resorted to more than $1 billion in targeted tax
increases over the last two years to balance the budget. The fiscal year
26 budget Pritzker signed this month increased discretionary spending by
less than 1%.
There’s also been headaches over legislative priorities. Labor unions
are frustrated Pritzker didn’t embrace their proposal for pension reform
this spring. And many parts of the governor’s legislative agenda hit
roadblocks with concerned lawmakers. There’s also ongoing discussions
about achieving Pritzker’s bold clean energy goals as prices rise and
energy supply is strained.
The governor has taken pride in growing state agencies decimated by the
two-year budget impasse that began a decade ago. But problems at those
agencies have caused trouble for Pritzker.
An audit revealed the Department of Public Health failed to intervene to
stop deaths from COVID-19 at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home in 2020, though
Pritzker blamed and fired leaders at the Department of Veterans’
Affairs. Billions of pandemic relief dollars at the Department of
Employment Security went to fraudsters, while the Department of Children
and Family Services faced years of scrutiny over deaths and the its
failure to properly house children in its care while Pritzker maintained
support for the department’s director.
GOP criticizes ‘stepping stone’ approach
As problems have mounted at the Statehouse, Senate Republicans have
encouraged Pritzker to “think Illinois.” As he announced his campaign
Thursday, Illinois Republicans continue to believe his focus is
elsewhere.
“These last nearly eight years under his governance merits firing not
rehiring,” Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi said in a statement. “While
businesses and families flee, Pritzker sees Illinois as nothing more
than a stepping stone for the White House.”
A field of Republican challengers is still taking shape. So far, DuPage
County Sheriff James Mendrick, Posen Park District Commissioner Phil
Perez and Lake Forest businessman Joe Severino have announced they will
run in the Republican primary.
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.
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