Gov. JB Pritzker makes it official: He's running for a third term to be Illinois' chief executive

Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune on Jun 26, 2025

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CHICAGO – Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker made it official Thursday that he is running for reelection to a third term as Illinois’ chief executive.

In a nearly two-minute video released on Thursday morning — in conjunction with the governor’s planned two-day statewide tour that kicks off at 10 a.m. this morning in Chicago — Pritzker vowed to “keep Illinois moving forward” while presenting himself as a bulwark against President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape America.

“These days, Illinois is standing at the center of the fight: The fight to make life more affordable, the fight to protect our freedoms, the fight for common sense,” Pritzker said in the video, which focuses on Trump before pivoting to what Pritzker describes as his successes as governor since he first took office in 2019, including balanced budgets, state credit upgrades and hiking the minimum wage.

“We don’t just talk about problems. In Illinois, we solve them,” Pritzker continued. “Because we know government ought to stand up for working families and be a force for good, not a weapon of revenge. Donald Trump’s made clear, he’ll stop at nothing to get his way. I’m not about to stand by and let him tear down all we’re building in Illinois.”

Later Thursday, Pritzker was formally set to kick off his reelection campaign with a rally at the Grand Crossing Park Field House — the place where he launched his initial bid for chief executive in April 2017 where, like now, he attacked Trump.

“Everything we care about is under siege by Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner,” he said then, also citing the one-term Republican governor who he would go on to handily defeat in the 2018 general election.

Pritzker’s focus on Trump will likely spur speculation about whether the governor will vow to serve out a full third term or run for president in 2028. Should he run for president and win the presidency, the lieutenant governor would take over for the final two years and Pritzker has yet to announce who his running mate will be. Current Lieutenant Gov. Julianna Stratton is running next year for U.S. Senate to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.

Still, Pritzker’s announcement put him in a position to be in rarefied air in the world of Illinois politics. If Pritzker wins a third term, he’d become the first Democratic governor in state history to be elected to more than two terms in office and the first governor since Republican James R. Thompson served 14 years from 1977 to 1991. Illinois has no term limits on its constitutional offices.

First elected in 2018, Pritzker, a 60-year-old entrepreneur and heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, is one of the nation’s wealthiest politicians, with a net worth of $3.7 billion, according to Forbes. President Donald Trump is estimated by Forbes to be worth $5.5 billion.

In addition to balanced budgets and credit upgrades, Pritzker — who has repeatedly described himself as a “pragmatic progressive” — also highlighted in the video that he’s increased protections for abortion access for women, signed bans on assault weapons and added jobs to the state’s economy.

“I’m running for reelection to protect our progress and continue solving the problems we face,” Pritzke said in the video. “I’m ready for the fight ahead.”

The South Side rally Thursday morning was part of a six-stop, two-day statewide announcement tour that included Rockford, Peoria and Springfield on Thursday and Belleville and West Frankfort on Friday.

Pritzker is a prohibitive favorite to reclaim the Democratic nomination for governor in the March 17, 2026, primary. No major Republican candidate has yet to surface. The biggest GOP name so far is DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick — and while Pritzker’s intention to seek reelection became public on Tuesday, the moribund Illinois GOP waited two days to issue a statement.

State GOP Chair Kathy Salvi accused Pritzker of having “used and abused the fine people of Illinois, allowing heavy handed government to meddle in the lives and safety of ordinary Illinoisans.”

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