“Reckless President No Longer Unchecked!” Pritzker Vows To Stop Trump’s Political Power Grab

People have asked me over the last few years, what's given me the courage to stand up to this president, to this presidency. They've asked me if I worry about the insults that are flung my way by the Oval Office. Well, the answer is I don't worry about it at all. I'm happy to be something they jeer because I've seen what they choose to cheer. Give it up one more time for your next lieutenant governor, Christian Mitchell. Watch out! One of the true delights of running for governor is getting to choose a partner. One of the true delights of running for governor is getting to choose a partner and a leader to run with as lieutenant governor. And if I do say so myself, I've hit it out of the park twice now. And starting tonight, one of them will soon be known as United States Senator Juliana Stratton. Now, there's a woman that I have known for 38 years who has been an unsung champion for the vulnerable and the afflicted. When there's injustice, when people's rights are under attack, she doesn't seek attention. She stands in the breach as an unwavering defender. She is my best friend. She is the love of my life. And your first lady, M.K. Pritzker. To our daughter, Teddy, and our son, Donnie, you have grown into good, kind, smart, hard-working adults. You make mom and me so very proud, and we love you more than life itself. To every volunteer, every precinct captain and phone banker and canvasser, you've vanquished the MAGA Illinois GOP, and you rebuilt the Democratic Party of Illinois, led by the amazing Chris Shallow. I have the absolute best campaign team in this country. You all made this victory possible. And to my opponent, Darren Bailey, who ran hard, who ran hard and gave it his all. Despite our differences, I know that we both love Illinois. MK and I want to wish you and Cindy the blessings of peace in the days ahead. Let's commit, let's commit. To work for a time when all our political disputes will be resolved by the better angels of our nature. Illinois, my heart is full tonight with the kind of emotion that we Midwestern dads too often keep to ourselves. But as I look out at this amazing crowd, I'm reminded how much I love this great state and its people. Your kindness and decency, your work ethic and authenticity. I love you too. Your resilience, I am so proud to be governor of Illinois. I love this patch of prairie land, this union state that built railroads, a state that spawned skyscrapers that split the atom. I love that Decatur is the soybean capital of the world, that Morton is the pumpkin capital of the world, that Collinsville is the horseradish capital of the world. I love that we put mustard on our hot dogs and we tolerate those who put ketchup on them. Barely, but still. I love that this is the house where house music started. I love that the Pope began a journey of faith here and he did it by rooting for the White Sox. I love that Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers, began their journey in Joliet. I love that a great fire turned Chicago into a hub of entrepreneurs and that a great lake made us the home of innovation. I love that it was the first Illinois president who taught us how to stick together and that it was another Illinois president who showed us how to hope for better. I love that over the last eight years while so much of this country we pledge allegiance to has lost its bearings, Illinoisans have remained steadfast and true. I love that the people here never once fell into the trap of succumbing to the wiles of a petty tyrant, but instead we recommitted ourselves to the noble precept that democracy and freedom go hand in hand. An idea that must be renewed, a bedrock that must be reinforced by each generation. I love that we fought when our neighbors needed us to fight, and that we showed up when we needed to show out. I love being your governor. I love you too. Public service, public service is a career path too often belittled. But to do so is to betray the values and hard work of so many people dedicated to making our lives and our communities better. From the first responders who run toward danger, to the emergency management teams who keep us out of it, from those at the Department of Health who watch for disease, to the home health care aides who treat it, from the child welfare caseworkers who rescue children from neglect To the school social workers who prevent it. Road crews and teachers and conservation experts and mental health counselors and librarians. Every day, each of these people demolish the stereotypes ascribed to them. Every day, their public service makes Illinois such a wonderful place to live. To my staff in the governor's office who have never once flinched. They've never once flinched when forced to confront Any crisis they've been asked to endure, you make me so proud. And it's a privilege to work with all of you. Now, the night is still young, and we will see what surprises the next few hours hold. But as I stand here, I tell you this. The early results across the country are resuscitating a strange feeling inside of me. It's a feeling of hope. Because it looks like maybe, just maybe, something is stirring in the conscience of America. My time as governor has been grounded in a somewhat radical idea. Nothing good can be built on the governing notion that the place you want to change is somehow fundamentally irreparable. Hope and fear are from the same family. Both demand that you believe in a future you cannot see. Which one you adopt is a measure of character. In the world right now, politicians fall into one of two camps. Those that ask you to hope and those that want you to fear. For eight years, I've asked you to join me in hope. And I'd like to take a measure tonight of what hope and hard work has gotten us. We've nearly doubled the minimum wage to $15 an hour. We delivered universal paid leave for every Illinois worker. We have no cell phones in our classrooms and more teachers in our schools. We require that black history is taught in every school because black history is American history. And now Illinois has the highest high school graduation rate ever. We delivered eight balanced budgets that led to 12 state credit upgrades. We built a quantum industry that is shaping up to be the envy of the world. We upgraded our infrastructure entirely with union workers. We made Illinois a fortress for women's reproductive freedom. We enacted the toughest AI regulations in the country. We banned assault weapons. We stood up against ICE invasions. And if all of that wasn't good enough for you, well... Hope was also given, well, has given us a winning White Sox season and a Bears playoff win over the Packers and a Chicago hope. Now, I can't really take credit for those last three, but I think God has hope in us too. Our long list of accomplishments is not to say that the work is done. I have confidence in our ability to tackle the challenges ahead, but fear has its place in building what is to come. It's just important that we fear the right things. Fear greed. Fear cruelty. Fear corruption. Fear intolerance and callousness and unchecked power. Fear politics devoid of empathy. Fear any leader who does not appreciate a life filled with simple joys. Who never closed their eyes upon hearing a favorite piece of music. Who never welled up with unselfish pride at a friend's accomplishments. Who never told a self-deprecating joke just to comfort another. Who never learned how to apologize simply and sincerely. Fear any person who doesn't know how to offer compassion when someone they dislike dies or kindness when someone who can't offer them anything needs it. Those are the things that we should fear. Those are the people we should fear. We should not fear immigrants and people of color and women. We should not fear the LGBTQ community. We should not fear the beardos and the weirdos. And we should not fear the Canadians. We should not fear the strange wonderful mix of diverse opinions and backgrounds and ethnicities that make our communities rich, our food good, our culture strong, our work ethic durable, and our country so uniquely American. I have one important rule in life. I don't feast with people beside whom I wouldn't trust to starve. And it's always the people who are struggling, Who are persecuted, who are unfairly stereotyped. Who would give you the last piece of bread if you needed it. That's the squad with whom I want to roll into the next chapter. Hope for the best in us, fear the worst. And remember that courage doesn't exist without fear. It exists to confront fear. People have asked me over the last few years, what's given me the courage to stand up to this president, to this presidency. They've asked me if I worry about the insults that are flung my way by the Oval Office. Well, the answer is I don't worry about it at all. I'm happy to be something they jeer because I've seen what they choose to cheer. There's one question I've gotten a lot over the last few months. What's next? The answer is simple. I'm going to ask you to continue to hope, to wrap yourself in hope, in courage. We climbed one mountain tonight, but we are sitting at the base of another. We have a health care system that we need to break down to the studs and rebuild. One where we put doctors and patients ahead of insurance companies and profits. We have an electoral system that needs real campaign finance reform. Because no special interest should be able to simply buy the regulations they prefer. We have... A growing group of tech robber barons who need to be told that money does not give them the right to exist outside the rules we all live by. And we need to rescue the American dream for the next generation. It is simply unacceptable that both the essentials and the joys of living life have moved out of reach for almost every working class American. This life, this one precious, beautiful life. Needs to be about more than grinding it out every day until the day you die. It's this simple. If you go to work in the morning and you come home at night, you ought to make enough money to put food on the table, to see a doctor when you're sick, to live in a dignified home, to save for retirement, and take a vacation every once in a while. We can make that happen. We must make that happen. Now, I know. I know that the last few years have been hard. I know that it would have been easy for you to lose hope along the way. But at every turn, you've shown the resolve and the courage that hope requires. It's in you as it is in me. Hope lives within us. Tonight is a good night, but the work does not end tonight. Tomorrow we wake up with hope rewarded and purpose renewed. So I have just one question for you, Illinois. Are you ready for the fight? Ready for the fight! Then go out there with hope and courage and fight like hell for what's next. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States. Subscribe to One India and never miss an update. Download the One India app now.