J.B. Pritzker

Pritzker was born in Atherton, California, on January 19, 1965. He received a bachelor's degree from Duke University and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.[10][11] Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel chain, ran the private equity firm Pritzker Group with his brother until 2017.[7] He also founded 1871, a nonprofit small business incubator based in Chicago, and served as chair of the Illinois Human Rights Commission.[12]

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Campaign website

Pritzker's campaign website stated the following:

JB's Priorities for Protecting Net Neutrality

The internet is essential to everyday business operations, student learning, and free speech. The Federal Communications Commission’s decision to dismantle net neutrality, the rules that protect the free flow of information online, threatens equal access to the internet. In the absence of federal protections, internet service providers (ISPs) will be able to block website content, manipulate internet speeds, and charge customers extra to utilize certain websites.

Twenty-three state attorneys general, including Illinois, are suing the FCC to preserve net neutrality. Right now, Illinois should be taking actions to ensure that every Illinoisan has unfettered access to the internet. Unfortunately, Bruce Rauner continues to fail families throughout the state by remaining silent while the Trump administration reverses consumer protections and infringes upon free speech.

As governor, I will ensure that all internet traffic is treated equally so that everyone can continue to use the internet to grow their businesses, further their education, and enjoy the freedom of expression.

JB will fight to protect net neutrality:

Require ISPs that do business with the state to honor net neutrality principles for all customers in Illinois.

Prohibit those ISPs from blocking content, applications or services, slowing down internet traffic, and providing preferential treatment to certain customers.

Compel those ISPs to disclose their network management practices and performance.

Empower the state to hold those ISPs accountable.

JB's Commitment to Women's Rights

As governor, I will be a tireless advocate for women as I’ve been my entire life. From door-knocking for progressive Democrats with my mother, to marching with NARAL twenty-five years ago, to working to elect pro-choice candidates in Illinois, I’ve fought for women’s rights for decades. I passionately supported HB40 and demanded Bruce Rauner sign this critical legislation because all women should be able to access reproductive healthcare in Illinois regardless of their income. I have also made it a priority to mentor women entrepreneurs and invest in women-owned businesses.

It is unacceptable that today in Illinois women make only 79 cents on the dollar compared to men — and that African American women who make 63 cents and Latina women who make just 54 cents on the dollar are also more likely than other women to live in poverty. Bruce Rauner’s failed policies have hurt women across this state. He imposed drastic cuts to the Child Care Assistance Program, which provides affordable child care to low-income families, three-quarters of which are female-headed single-parent households. Rauner also vetoed the No Salary History bill that would have helped narrow the wage gap by preventing employers from setting salaries based on previous ones. And Rauner’s 736-day manufactured budget crisis threatened access to free breast and cervical cancer screenings for more than 9,000 low-income women.

In Springfield, Juliana and I will continue to stand up for women’s rights. I will fiercely defend women’s healthcare, fight for policies that improve women’s economic well-being, and foster a culture in which sexual harassment is not tolerated. I will also stand up to Donald Trump when he proposes policies that hurt Illinois women, and I will stand with women as we work to root out sexual harassment and discrimination from our society.

JB will fight for women’s rights:

Pass annual budgets that restore funding for healthcare services for low-income women, including reproductive and preventive healthcare.

Stand up to Donald Trump’s attempts to cut funding for Planned Parenthood and rollback federal protections for women’s healthcare, like access to birth control.

Fight for legislation that strengthens equal pay laws and prevents employers from asking about salary history.

Support raising the minimum wage to a living wage to help lift up families striving to get into the middle class, especially female-headed single-parent households.

Increase access to the Child Care Assistance Program so that working parents can maintain stable employment.

JB's Plan for Economic Inclusion

People of color in Illinois have been left out and left behind when it comes to economic prosperity and job growth. Bruce Rauner’s fiscal mismanagement has stunted job creation, destabilized local economies, and eroded the financial security of working families. As a result, many residents, particularly in communities of color, are fleeing Illinois and seeking economic opportunity elsewhere.

JB’s plan to foster economic inclusion will expand opportunities for minority entrepreneurs and small business owners across the state, reversing the trend of disinvestment and outward migration while restoring hope and opportunity for communities that need it most. In order to achieve true economic inclusion, JB’s plan focuses on twelve areas of opportunity to create economic growth and jobs:

Procurement Reform

Expand opportunities for minority business owners to secure state contracts by increasing the use of sheltered markets, expanding the range of contracts subject to the Business Enterprise Program, increasing the M/WBE aspirational goal to 30%, unbundling contracts, and adding metrics to the procurement scoring process that benefit firms that meet diversity benchmarks in both their public and private sector work.

Drastically increase M/WBE participation in the state’s procurement of professional services, including but not limited to legal, financial, and accounting services.

Create a new cabinet-level position responsible for fostering diversity, economic inclusion, and accountability throughout the procurement process and executive agencies.

Increase Access to Capital

Create new loan programs to ensure that minority business owners have the resources, working capital, and bridge financing they need to expand their businesses and compete for state contracts.

Minority and Women-Owned Business (M/WBE)-Focused Business Accelerators

Establish M/WBE-focused accelerators in communities across the state that provide entrepreneurs with access to targeted resources & services, mentorship, technical assistance, bridge financing, and investment capital. The purposes of these accelerators are to foster M/WBE startups, to help existing M/WBE small businesses grow, and to help promote M/WBE procurement subcontractors to become prime vendors.

Diversify the Pipeline of Workers Employed by Union and Non-Union Building Trades and Contractors

Establish state-funded career readiness and pre-apprenticeship programs targeting disadvantaged communities.

Utilize bid credits at the Capital Development Board and the Illinois Department of Transportation to reward firms that employ minority and female workers.

Foster greater employment opportunities for women and minority workers by promoting the use of Project Labor Agreements.

Ensure Communities of Color Share in the Economic Benefits of Marijuana Legalization

Create a Cannabis Equity Program that promotes black and brown entrepreneurs in the ownership and licensing of new marijuana dispensaries and offers fee waivers, technical assistance, and subsidized loans to equity applicants.

Allow individuals with misdemeanor marijuana convictions to expunge records and qualify for DBE small business loans, cannabis permits, and licensing.

Incentivize Job Creation

Provide tax incentives for businesses that relocate or initiate new businesses in Opportunity Zones and adhere to state diversity targets.

Youth Employment

Expand employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth throughout the state by enhancing the geographic reach of youth employment programs and the number of youth participating across the state.

Access to Financial Institutions

Partner with banks and financial institutions to provide banking services in public libraries and public spaces in underserved communities.

Consumer Protection

Establish rate caps on how much check cashing agencies can charge consumers.

Online Lending

Provide entrepreneurs with a comprehensive online portal to help them identify and apply for non-predatory business loans.

Small Businesses Borrowers' Bill of Rights

Establish consumer protections for small businesses that will safeguard against predatory lending practices by unscrupulous lenders.

Increase High-Speed Connectivity

Build statewide high-speed broadband internet infrastructure to ensure access in underserved communities across Illinois. Broadband will assist startup entrepreneurs and provide easy access to educational resources.

JB's Plan to Protect Illinois Seniors

Seniors deserve to live healthy, independent lives. No senior who wants to remain in their home should be forced to live in a nursing home, and seniors who cannot live independently deserve safe short- and long-term rehabilitative facilities. Respecting seniors means ensuring they have access to quality, affordable care in the environment of their choice along with a strong web of community-based services that provide them the tools they need to live independently. JB will fight to make sure Illinois gives seniors the tools they need to continue living and thriving in their communities.

JB will work to protect seniors across Illinois:

Ensure seniors live with dignity in the environment of their choice with access to quality care

Strengthen the Community Care Program to help seniors remain in their homes by moving our state toward a universal long-term care program, improving wages and benefits for caregivers, offering improved training opportunities, and improving conditions for family caregivers so they can both care for their loved ones and provide for their families.

Improve agency oversight and accountability of short and long-term rehabilitation facilities to ensure the safety of residents who cannot live independently.

Require nursing homes to abide by staffing and safety requirements that make sure seniors receive quality care.

Protect access to affordable, dependable healthcare for seniors

Ensure that seniors living independently in their homes benefit from coordinated healthcare delivery to prevent unnecessary and expensive hospitalizations.

Work with federal policy makers to protect Medicare and oppose efforts that make prescription drugs and patient co-pays less affordable.

Enact a new public health insurance option that would allow every Illinois resident the chance to acquire low-cost health insurance.

Rebuild human services to give seniors the tools they need to live independently in their communities

Capture all available Medicaid waiver federal dollars to better meet the needs of seniors.

Ensure seniors have access to affordable housing and utilities, financial literacy programs, adult education and life-long learning, and job training.

Support stronger consumer protections for seniors and ensure enforcement of existing Illinois laws and regulations that protect the financial resources of senior citizens.

JB's Priorities for Protecting Immigrant Families

Illinois is home to 1.8 million immigrants, including about 450,000 undocumented residents and 42,000 DACA recipients. They are our neighbors and a critical part of our state, contributing to the culture and the economy that make Illinois a great place to live.

Unlike Bruce Rauner, I won’t stand idly by while Donald Trump tries to separate children from their parents and attacks the foundations of our American values. I will resist his attempts to build a wall along our southern border, eliminate DACA, and end Temporary Protected Status for people from El Salvador, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

Immigrant families want the same thing my great-grandfather did when he came to the United States: safety, freedom, and the opportunity to build a better life. As governor, I will support our immigrant families and speak out against xenophobia, racism, and injustice because every Illinois family deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

As governor, I will work hand-in-hand with students, advocates, and elected officials to improve educational opportunities, increase healthcare options, and foster economic opportunity for immigrant youth and their families.

JB will fight to protect immigrant families:

Stand against Donald Trump’s attacks on Dreamers and fight for a permanent, legislative solution for DACA recipients to stay in this country and pursue the American dream.

Enforce the Illinois TRUST Act and support local efforts to create welcoming communities for immigrant families across our state.

Prohibit Illinois from participating in a Muslim registry or any federal registry program based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, or religion.

JB's Priorities for Protecting the Environment

Illinois deserves clean air, clean water, and a safe environment where all communities can thrive. Unfortunately, under Bruce Rauner our environment is under assault. His 736-day manufactured budget crisis defunded state agencies dedicated to the protection of our environment. Rauner proposed scrapping pollution limits designed to ensure clean air and water. And when Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, Bruce Rauner remained silent, refusing to join other states in committing to this important accord.

Unlike Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner, I stand on the side of science and believe climate change is real. The transition to a clean energy economy has already begun, and Illinois will be left behind if we don’t act. As governor, I will bring all stakeholders to the table to put Illinois on a path toward 100% clean, renewable energy and make sure that every community justly benefits during this transition.

Additionally, I will invest in clean water infrastructure, expand energy efficiency efforts, and support the agencies that protect our environment. Most importantly, I will honor the Paris Climate agreement and join the U.S. Climate Alliance.

Here are my priorities:

Put Illinois on a path toward 100% clean, renewable energy and attract commercial investment in clean energy production and transmission here in Illinois.

Protect clean water and air by investing in clean water infrastructure and expanding energy efficiency efforts.

End the Rauner era of neglect by prioritizing expertise within state environmental agencies including IDNR, IEPA, and the Illinois Environmental Justice Commission.

Stand up to Donald Trump’s attacks on our environment and join the U.S. Climate Alliance to uphold the provisions of the Paris Agreement.

Legalizing Marijuana

The path forward for Illinois is clear: we need to legalize marijuana. As governor, I am ready to stand with leaders, communities, and families across our state to legalize marijuana and move our state forward.

There is an abundance of evidence that shows we can legalize marijuana in a safe way. It would have real benefits for Illinois, including reducing opioid overdoses and bringing in much needed revenue from taxation.

Most importantly, legalizing marijuana is a step forward in reforming our broken criminal justice system. Criminalizing marijuana hasn’t made our communities safer. What it has done is disproportionately impact black and brown communities. There are way too many people who have gone to prison or are currently sitting in prison for marijuana related offenses. The criminalization of marijuana has never been and never will be enforced fairly and it’s time to bring that to an end.

JB will work to legalize marijuana, reduce mass incarceration, and reinvest in Illinois communities:

Safely legalize and decriminalize marijuana and put in place a framework to license businesses to sell marijuana to consumers for recreational use.

Review and commute the sentences of people incarcerated for marijuana offenses in Illinois. It’s time to bring the era of mass incarcerations for minor drug offenses to an end.

Intentionally include black and brown entrepreneurs in the planning and licensing of new marijuana dispensaries. New jobs and businesses must be created in the communities that have experienced the most disinvestment under Bruce Rauner.

Reinvest in communities hit hardest by the war on drugs and the legacy of mass incarceration.

A Public Health Approach to Gun Violence

Gun violence is a public health epidemic. It kills people, destroys families, and rips apart our communities. Our plan centers on recognizing violence as the health epidemic that it is, interrupting it, reducing the risk, and changing community norms so that everyone can feel safe in their own homes.

People resort to violence when they lose hope and are closed off from opportunity. Systemic racism and disinvestment has closed communities off from economic opportunity for decades and this has only been compounded by Bruce Rauner. Unemployment in the five Chicago communities most affected by gun violence is as high as 35%. Unemployment in other regions of the state most affected by gun violence exceeds the state average too. Bruce Rauner’s 736-day budget crisis decimated funding for violence prevention, after school programs, and mental health services, all of which contribute to more resilient communities.

We need to fight for all communities to be healthy and safe, and we need to partner with those already doing this work. As governor, I will work with all communities affected by gun violence. Together, we will lead efforts to treat gun violence as a public health epidemic, rebuild healthy communities, and increase firearm safety.

JB will treat gun violence as a public health epidemic:

Empower the Illinois Department of Public Health to expand their treatment of gun violence as a public health epidemic.

Fight for public health research on gun violence by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) at the federal level.

Focus on prevention and intervention by investing in community programs that interrupt violence and encourage non-violent conflict resolution.

JB will work to rebuild healthy communities:

Restore funding for community organizations and human services programs. These services are critical to prevent violence, disrupt violence through after school and mental health services, treat those most at risk, and change community norms.

Create economic opportunity in neighborhoods most affected by gun violence by increasing access to capital and training for small businesses and expanding education opportunities for youth.

Partner with localities to develop conflict resolution programs for our children.

JB will increase firearm safety:

Implement universal background checks for every gun sale in Illinois.

Make a lethal violence protection order available so that families can step in to protect loved ones from harming themselves and others.

Ban assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and bump stocks in Illinois to help prevent mass shootings.

Support and sign a gun dealer licensing bill to ensure firearms are sold in a safe and responsible manner.

Create and lead a consortium of regional states committed to reducing gun trafficking across our state border. This will also allow law enforcement agencies to share data to help track the flow of illegal guns.

Create a dedicated gun crime investigation unit within state police that coordinates with local police departments to focus on illegal gun trafficking and gun crime.

Secure federal funding to improve background check records reporting.

Create an inter-agency working group to evaluate the state’s progress in providing prohibiting records to the federal NICS background check system.

Ensure all domestic violence and drug abuse prohibiting records are pre-validated and uploaded to the appropriate background check systems in a timely manner.

JB's Commitment to LGBTQ Rights

My mother was an LGBTQ activist during the mid-1970’s in San Francisco. She instilled in me a spirit of inclusivity and respect for the humanity of all people. That’s why I’ve been a staunch advocate for LGBTQ rights my entire life. I marched in the Chicago Pride Parade long before it was a celebration, but instead was a protest march. And 20 years before it was legal, MK and I hosted a gay wedding in our backyard not to make a statement, but because Stephen and Dale were our friends and were in love.

We have made historic strides towards equality in Illinois, but we still have a long way to go. Especially today as Donald Trump threatens to undermine the civil rights of LGBTQ people and Bruce Rauner remains silent. Rauner’s 736-day manufactured budget crisis threatened the lives of LGBTQ people by cutting critical funding for HIV testing and prevention and by gutting homeless youth services, substance abuse services, and mental health services all critically important to LGBTQ people. We need a governor who will restore stability and defend the rights of every person in Illinois.

My administration will fight hate wherever it occurs in our state by rooting out bullying in our schools and enforcing workplace nondiscrimination laws. I will work with the legislature to pass annual budgets that invest in social service agencies that address the unique challenges facing the LGBTQ community. When I’m governor, the LGBTQ community won’t just have a seat at the table, they will be equal partners in the fight to make equality a lived reality for all.

JB will fight for LGBTQ rights:

Address the rise of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, particularly against the transgender community, and work to root out LGBTQ bullying in our schools.

Pass annual budgets that restore stability to our social service agencies and fund programs for homeless youth, mental health, and HIV prevention, testing and treatment.

Expand healthcare so that LGBTQ residents have access to affordable healthcare options that meet their medical needs.

Build an administration that represents the diversity of our state with LGBTQ individuals hired or appointed across the government and ensure government employees are trained on sexual orientation and gender diversity issues.

Oppose legislation that discriminates against LGBTQ residents and fight back against Donald Trump and his party’s bigoted agenda.

JB's Priorities to Raise Wages in Illinois

Just as the labor movement helped create the middle class in our country in the last century, it will be key to rebuilding the middle class in Illinois today. Under Bruce Rauner, working families and workers’ rights have been under attack. JB will stand up for workers’ rights and work hand-in-hand with the labor movement to fight against harmful legislation that lowers wages. He will also stand up to Donald Trump’s attempts to undermine federal labor protections.

Protect Collective Bargaining Rights

JB believes unions are key to building a strong middle class.

Governor Rauner’s extreme agenda is a direct attack on Illinois’ working families. Governor Rauner favors right to work legislation, which would destroy unions in this state, and has proposed legislation that would significantly limit collective bargaining by preventing workers from bargaining over central tenets of employment—wages and healthcare.

JB knows workers are the heart of every organization and must be treated with respect. JB will fight to protect collective bargaining rights because he believes unions are key to building a strong middle class. JB will protect fair share agreements and will be a good faith partner for labor unions and workers.

Support a Living Wage

JB believes that the minimum wage needs to be increased.

Governor Rauner is holding the minimum wage hostage to his extreme agenda. Governor Rauner pays lip service to a minimum wage increase, but does not support a living wage for Illinois’ working families.

JB supports raising the minimum wage to $15. JB understands that respect for workers means paying them a living wage. A person making Illinois’ current minimum wage of $8.25 an hour earns just $17,160 annually to work full time. Raising the minimum wage will help reverse the growing wage gap.

Fight for Equal Pay

JB knows that women deserve to earn equal pay for equal work.

JB will fight to strengthen Illinois’s Equal Pay Act. Women not only deserve equal pay, but they also deserve to know when they’re being paid less than their male counterparts. Equal pay laws should include harsher penalties for companies that are not in compliance. JB will also fight to make sure progress toward equal pay isn’t rolled back on the federal level.

Enforce Laws Protecting Workers from Misclassification and Wage Theft

JB knows businesses need to pay workers the wages and benefits they rightfully deserve under law.

Governor Rauner wants to help business at the expense of workers. Governor Rauner’s extreme “turnaround agenda” fails to acknowledge the enforcement and investigative work that must be done to protect workers.

JB understands that worker misclassification and wage theft hurt workers and business. JB supports full enforcement of the 2010 Illinois Wage Theft Enforcement Act, which strengthens worker protections, and improving accountability measures for employers that improperly pay their employees. JB will appoint a Director of the Department of Labor who will relentlessly enforce all laws and direct the Joint Misclassification Enforcement Task Force to actively investigate and penalize employers who are in violation of the law.

Fight for an Enforceable Prevailing Wage

JB believes that government should not act to drive down wages.

Governor Rauner wants to repeal the Illinois Prevailing Wage law. Under Governor Rauner’s administration, the Illinois Department of Labor hasn’t updated wage rates depriving workers of what’s owed to them.

JB will fight to protect prevailing wage law in Illinois. JB supports a law that would formalize wage determinations, just as the federal prevailing wage law does. Studies show that prevailing wage laws do not drive up construction costs. Instead, they elevate worker skills in the construction industry, promote better workplace safety, and increase government revenues.

Strengthen Project Labor Agreements

JB believes that the State should be a responsible partner in public works construction projects.

Governor Rauner wants to repeal the Illinois Project Labor Agreements Act. Governor Rauner would prohibit the use of project labor agreements on state-funded projects, except where required by federal law.

JB believes that Project Labor Agreements help ensure a skilled and experienced workforce and foster greater employment opportunities for women and people of color in the construction industry. JB will promote diversity in union apprenticeship programs and will sign an executive order to advocate the use of PLAs by all State agencies.

JB's Plan for the Opioid Epidemic

There is an opioid crisis in Illinois that is ending too many lives and devastating too many families. This crisis is only getting worse, with a 44.3 percent increase in drug-related overdoses from 2013 to 2016. Last year, there were 2,278 drug-related deaths in Illinois, and over 80 percent of drug overdoses are now caused by opioids. The super-opiate, Fentanyl, took 562 lives in Cook County alone in 2016, up from 20 in 2014.

Unfortunately, Governor Bruce Rauner is once again failing to lead. In 2015, bipartisan members of the General Assembly came together to pass the Heroin Crisis Act, a forward-thinking and comprehensive bill to combat the epidemic. Rauner vetoed the bill – forcing legislators to override his veto – the only override of that legislative session.

Rauner also proposed slashing funding for addiction treatment by 20 percent, with Illinois already in the bottom three states for providing publicly funded addiction treatment. Rauner’s 736-day manufactured budget crisis made the problem worse, devastating the state’s addiction and mental health treatment services and forcing 27 public health departments to reduce staff or services. All the while, Illinois’ opioid crisis spiraled out of control.

We can’t afford to ignore this crisis. We need a governor who will recognize this emergency and prioritize addressing it.

My plan is focused on six key priorities:

Focus on Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Education.

Reduce the Risks of Prescription Opioids.

Remove Barriers to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery.

Work with the Criminal Justice System to Prioritize Treatment Over Incarceration.

Ensure Health Insurance Companies Cover Addiction Treatment Fairly.

Leverage Federal Funding Opportunities to Fight the Opioid Epidemic Locally.

Focus on Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Education

Opioid use can be particularly dangerous among children and adolescents. Between 1994 and 2007, the prescribing rates for opioids among adolescents and young adults almost doubled. In 2015, more than a quarter of a million adolescents were using pain relievers without a medical purpo