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In his second term as governor, Democrat JB Pritzker is a rising figure in the party who gets his chance to speak at the convention tonight and highlight his state all week.
Pritzker led the effort to convince the party to hold its convention in Chicago and will have the state’s reputation — and his own — riding on how it comes off, whether it’s overshadowed by protests and if it helps give Vice President Kamala Harris a boost.
“It’s Pritzker’s convention,” says Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield. “He clearly viewed this as, you know, this is an opportunity for me to go national, to get recognition, to show that I can deliver.”
Pritzker was among governors who Vice President Kamala Harris considered for her running mate.
Here are some things to know about him:
Pritzker, 59, is an heir to the Hyatt hotels fortune with personal wealth totaling about $3.5 billion, according to Forbes. One of his uncles bought a motel in 1957 near the Los Angeles airport that would become the first of the Hyatt chain and capitalize on the growth of U.S. air travel.
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After losing his first attempt at public office in a primary run for Congress in 1997, Pritzker used some of his money to pay for his own campaign for governor, winning his first term in 2018. He’s funded campaigns for other Democrats. And he started a political action committee backing abortion rights, Think Big America, which purchased anti-Trump billboards around Milwaukee during this year’s Republican National Convention.
During Pritzker’s time in office and with a Legislature under Democratic control, Illinois has passed laws to make abortion more accessible. Pritzker says the federal government could do the same if Democrats win a majority in Congress - highlighting abortion’s central place in the presidential race.
He’s also backed a statewide child tax credit, healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants and a major expansion of public preschool programs.
Pritzker is credited with helping turn around a state financial crisis, boosting Illinois’ credit rating and paying off billions in state debts. He’s taken steps to strengthen the public employees pension funds but they remain among the worst-funded in the country. He’s brought in more money for the state by legalizing recreational marijuana use and sports betting.
But Republicans blame him for ongoing Illinois troubles, including gun violence in Chicago, a declining state population and high property taxes.
Pritzker’s re-election in 2022 increased the national attention on him and the criticisms he was making of Republican nominee Donald Trump. In his victory speech he referred to Trump and said, “To the fake patriots and their enablers, you don’t love the United States if you’re not willing to defend it against a man who would destroy it.”
A fundraiser for President Joe Biden, Pritzker helped convince the party to hold the convention in Chicago and quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden bowed out of the race. Recently, Pritzker has sharpened his attacks on Trump, calling him a “congenital liar” and a “flatulent old man.”
Illinois does not have term limits for governors and Pritzker hasn’t said if he plans to run for a third term in 2026.
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Alex Degman covers politics for WBEZ.
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