Since taking office in 2019, Gov. JB Pritzker has overseen efforts expanding affordable healthcare, increasing investments in underserved communities, and creating (then doubling) a state child tax credit.
Pritzker’s administration also advanced several initiatives benefiting the state’s LGBTQ+ community. Among them are the launch of Illinois Pride Connect, which provides free legal advice and advocacy tools; legislation making Illinois a shield state regarding gender-affirming care; and measures ensuring that the history and contributions of LGBTQ+ people are recognized in school instruction.
During a recent talk with Windy City Times, Pritzker discussed various topics, including issues regarding queer Illinoisans and the one thing he feels Donald Trump has done correctly. However—in a time when veracity seems to not occupy the place it used to in politics—the discussion started with a more general inquiry about character.
Note: This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
Windy City Times: Given what has happened in politics, I want to start with a question I posted on Facebook, actually: Is character still important in politics? Maybe I have a lot of cynical Facebook friends but a lot of them said it seems to be lacking on both sides of the political aisle.
Gov. JB Pritzker: I think it’s important to step back and recognize that character is important in life. I think we choose friends, in part, based on character, so we know that most people think character matters. I do think, however, that sometimes when you get to the ballot box, your choices sometimes include somebody whose character you don’t approve of and you’ve got to choose the lesser of [two evils]. So, that’s a sad situation when that occurs.
Character really should matter to everybody. It involves the way people comport themselves, the way they treat other people, the amount of empathy that they have, not just their positions on issues—and I think Donald Trump has proven that to a whole lot of people. It’s why I think his approval ratings have gone down and down and down. He’s done a lot of damage, but it says a lot about those who used to support him that character matters. He thinks it’s okay with lying to people to get elected and then not doing any of the things that he said he was going to do.
WCT: Yeah, I’ve often said that people vote their priorities, because I know people who realize that Trump isn’t the best guy in terms of character think, “I have to look out for my trust fund.” Now, they [wonder], “Why did I even vote for him?”
Pritzker: That’s exactly the point. Many people realize that he’s lied. But let’s just step back and recognize that a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump are not bad people. They’re not people who you don’t want to know.
There are people who have felt betrayed by the system. They voted for people who said they were going to do something that would make their lives better—and nothing got better. And so, they said, “Finally! Here’s a guy who says he’s going to blow it all up—Donald Trump. He’s gonna do it completely differently. He’s going to fire everybody.” But you know what? I do think a lot of people got fooled.
What he’s actually done is that he’s gotten things done for the wealthiest people in the country and for the largest corporations—not for regular everyday people who are just trying to put food on the table and care of their families.
WCT: What would you say is the biggest problem with the Republican Party and the biggest problem with the Democratic Party?
Pritzker: I will start by saying the Republican party has fallen prey to a cult of personality—[specifically,] Donald Trump and to threats. That party is under the spell of the cloud of dementia that Donald Trump has voiced over the country and, particularly, over his own party.
As for Democrats, on a national level, we have failed to deliver on the promise that we believe in as Democrats. Why is the national minimum wage still $7.25? You can’t survive—and you certainly can’t raise a family—on $14,000 a year, which is what that works out to. For too many years, even when Democrats were in control, we didn’t hike the minimum wage. Here in Illinois, it’s $15 an hour. We have more to do in this regard; we’ve said we want universal healthcare and real wage increases for people across the country.
We believe in education—and yet, at the federal level, almost none of those things have really been delivered for people. We haven’t made it easier for people to get a college degree or to go to community college. We just haven’t delivered.
Now, Republicans are trying to take us backward. They don’t believe in the minimum wage at all; $7.25 is too much. Obviously, they do not believe in universal healthcare but we do. But in the end, we’re not delivering those things so Democrats have failed.
As for Donald Trump, the only thing he may have done right—and we should take a lesson from—is that he came into office with an agenda. His agenda was called Project 2025, and he moved swiftly and has gotten most of it passed and done. I believe we have to have our agenda ready for when we have a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president.
WCT: Turning to Illinois and LGBTQ+ rights, Illinois has been in the forefront, including being the first state to decriminalize homosexuality, in 1962. You certainly have helped the queer community. What are some related achievements that you’re especially proud of?
Pritzker: I am very proud that this state really is a beacon for people’s individual rights, which is what I have heard from so many people who’ve moved to Illinois. They said they had to leave Florida, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and other states. They had to come to a state where they know their rights are protected, so I’m proud of how we’ve done it here in Illinois.
We decriminalized HIV [transmission, in 2021]. I have also required the teaching of LGBTQ+ history so that people know who the great leaders have been who’ve led to the LGBTQ+ community having more rights. It was time for us to acknowledge that the LGBTQ+ community has achieved so many great things—not just for themselves, but for our country.
I’m also proud that I have more members of the LGBTQ+ community in my administration than any other in history. And that matters. When you’re a young person, it helps to know that’s something you could achieve and that there are people in positions of power who are thinking about your rights and who are protecting you—and it’s really important that we protect the transgender community. We’re the party of civil rights. That’s one of the reasons I chose to be a Democrat and I have been one my whole life; my parents were Democrats as well.
There’s a congresswoman from southern Illinois named Mary Miller, who now wants to eliminate Pride Month. She’s literally introduced a bill to eliminate that [and rename June as “Family Month”]. One question that I would pose to my opponent [Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey] is if he agrees with Mary Miller. It’s an important question for him to answer because he is still against marriage equality.
WCT: A couple years ago, I interviewed your cousin, Retired Lt. Col. Jennifer N. Pritzker [who’s transgender]. She said that she voted for Trump in 2016 but voted for Joe Biden in 2020 because of Trump’s position regarding transgender people and the military. What is your message to queer people who are considering voting for the GOP in the gubernatorial election?
Pritzker: I have known people who are Log Cabin Republicans, who are Republicans who call themselves that after Abraham Lincoln. I don’t begrudge you the desire to support what I would call “Log Cabin values.” But think about which party actually represents those values today—the one that believes that people ought to be able to exercise their rights, no matter who they love.
We ought to be constantly looking to expand rights in this country and not contract them. What’s the Republican party trying to do today? Then consider either switching parties or voting for Democrats. Whatever other issues may be concerning you today, think about what would happen if you don’t have your rights. You’re not going to be able to accomplish anything.
WCT: When I co-interviewed you the first time you ran for governor, you said, “Everything I’ve worked on and cared about my whole life is under siege by Bruce Rauner and Donald Trump.” Has anything changed besides Rauner not being in the picture?
Pritzker: Yeah—he’s apparently left the state.
The Republican party’s gotten worse, not better. I don’t know whether Bruce Rauner has changed but, clearly, Donald Trump has changed for the worse. Donald Trump is a racist, misogynist, homophobe and xenophobe—and he’s proven it in all the policies that he’s put forward. So, things haven’t gotten better.
People are under siege. We saw it physically happen with ICE and CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] coming to Chicago and across Illinois.
WCT: Given the positions that you said are important to you, what does representation mean? You might be the first non-queer person I’ve asked this question to.
Pritzker: Well, I’m honored by that.
In part, it’s about having a government that has actual members of minority communities in powerful positions. That, to me, is representation. That includes elected officials and appointed officials as I can do. If you work with me, I want you to bring your values; please express them in how you act in office.
It’s not like I have some quota that I’m meeting. I believe that our government, broadly speaking, should represent. The swath of 13 million people that live across Illinois—including people in Carbondale, Atlanta, Quincy or Champaign—should be represented at the table.
I supported the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the Illinois House of Representatives [Larry McKeon] as well as Tom Chiola, the first openly gay candidate to be elected to public office in Illinois when he became Cook County judge [in 1994].
The point is that I believe in equal representation—and then I act upon it.
The website for JB for Governor is here.