Illinois Beat Its Version of trump Once. It Might Be America’s Turn Next

JB Pritzker cut his teeth taking down a trump wannabe intent on destroying Illinois, now he’s ready to save America from the real thing.

Let me tell you a little story about the great state of Illinois. In 2008, we sent our junior Senator, Barack Obama, off to the White House, and back home, our Governor, the popular Rod Blagojevich, was given a golden opportunity. Long story short, he broke the law, and he was impeached and removed from office. His lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, took over. After barely hangin on in his first official election in 2010, Gov. Quinn walked straight in to the brick wall of Oligarchy on his second run in 2014. Bruce Rauner, billionaire idiot of the day, bought his way through the Republican primary, and he stomped Quinn out of office, buying the entire state EXCEPT Cook County, the Democratic Capitol of the Midwest.

Rauner promptly led Illinois through 4 years that seemed ripped out of the current FOTUS’s first term, with no budgets being passed and no movement on anything because of the majority Democrats still held in the state legislature. Led by the equally tough Mike Madigan, Illinois Democrats refused to bend to Rauner’s will. As the next election approached, we wondered who could possibly take on Rauner and his billions. How much money were we all personally gonna have to donate? Could we find someone popular enough to cut through the wall of money?

Enter Daniel Biss.

Dan Biss was a progressive leader who was rising in popularity and recognition with a bold stance on legalizing Marijuana. As we approached the primary though, one question continued to plague his candidacy: could he compete with Rauner’s billions? Donations were coming in, but a billion is a billion, and how do you fight that?

With all that said my friends, let me tell you about JB Pritzker.

I was a strong Dan Biss supporter when Pritzker started gaining steam, and I didn’t trust JB. Another billionaire to save us from this billionaire? Oh, be still my beating heart. Overall, the biggest difference between Biss and Pritzker was more and more, solely monetary. In a lot of ways, Pritzkers argument was “if you like Biss, I do too, I’ll do everything he says he’ll do, but I can also attack Rauner’s wallet”. Yeah, suuuure buddy. When the primaries arrived, I was still not impressed, and I voted for Biss.

Thankfully, the rest of Illinois Democrats overwhelmingly chose Pritzker, and he took the nomination handily over Biss. With that, I had to decide if I, a staunch progressive who hated the rich and the oligarchy, who feared a billionaire bidding war for my beloved state, could stomach voting for one billionaire over another. So I watched Pritzker campaign. I listened to my trusted local news source, the Ben Joravsky Show. I watched the debates. And when the time came, I did indeed vote for Pritzker, although still cautiously.

Pritzker defeated Rauner 54-38, and I had no choice but to pay VERY close attention to his first term. Pritzker went big on the campaign trail, promising balanced budgets, legalized recreational marijuana along with reforms for non violent prisoners, changes to the tax code, and more. His first term included big delivery hits like raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, legalizing recreational marijuana, achieving fiscal stability that included credit upgrades, major investments in infrastructure improvements, and education funding that included a plan to give Illinois universal preschool by 2027. His push for a graduated tax code was an uphill battle from the beginning, and unfortunately, it failed. He put in the effort though, and the funding, but Illinois doesn’t just have one billionaire, and they outspent ours. Through that, other initiatives that would have required that change in tax code to function, like his plan to reduce the pension liability debt, also suffered.

To summarize, Bruce Rauner’s term was dominated by complete paralysis. He picked ideological fights with the Democratic legislature (especially over unions and social programs), but he didn’t have the political skill to win, or compromise. As a result, Illinois literally went two years without a budget. Credit ratings tanked. The state’s bill backlog exploded. Universities were gutted. Social service agencies collapsed. It was dysfunction on a historic level. Rauner wasn’t ever really trying to govern, he just wanted to “starve the beast” (typical conservative strategy: create a crisis to force privatization and spending cuts), but he didn’t even execute that competently, he just left Illinois in worse financial and institutional shape than when he took office. Sound familiar?

Pritzker, by contrast, actually governs.

He passes budgets every year, and makes large investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and green energy. He’s aggressively modernized some sectors like early childhood education, EV infrastructure, and even areas like cannabis licensing (though imperfectly on racial equity). He’s raised the minimum wage, stabilized pensions more than expected, and kept state services running.

Yes, spending is high, and yes, taxes are too, but at least there’s a functioning state government that’s actually trying to invest in the future.

So, why revisit this chapter of Illinois politics right now? Because the story of Rauner vs Pritzker isn’t just a state-level saga, it’s a preview of the national fight we’re walking into.

Rauner, with his wealth, arrogance, and utter disdain for actual governance, was just a smaller, colder version of the national nightmare we’ve been living through with trump. He embodied the strategy of breaking the government on purpose and daring anyone to fix it.

Again, sound familiar?

Pritzker, for all the concerns and doubts I initially had about him, didn’t just show up like Rauner and cash a check. He got in the arena. He fought. He governed. And he delivered. He pulled Illinois back from the brink and pushed it toward something better. Not perfect, not utopia, but real, tangible progress after a time when that felt impossible.

Now, as Pritzker moves toward the national stage, he’s not just bragging about Illinois. He’s offering America a roadmap out of the wreckage. He’s showing that you can actually beat the billionaires at their own game; if you have the guts, and if you never forget who you’re fighting for.

And I’ll tell you straight: Pritzker has earned my vote. He has earned my trust.

I know the “eat the rich” spirit is alive and well, I subscribe to that idea too. But JB Pritzker is not just another billionaire. He’s a fighter, he’s a builder, and he’s someone who understands that power only matters if you use it to lift people up.

Illinois has sent one of its own to defeat Oligarchy and preserve the Union once before with Abraham Lincoln.

We are prepared to do it again, and we already have our guy in JB Pritzker.