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Gov. Pritzker says he will try to protect Illinois against Trump policies
Governor J.B. Pritzker says he defended the state of Illinois last time Trump was in office and that he expects that will continue during his second presidency.
CHICAGO - The governor spoke Thursday for the first time since Donald Trump’s victory, saying Illinois will continue to be part of the resistance if Trump’s agenda becomes extreme and that he will be a "happy warrior" leading that resistance.
"To anyone that comes to take away freedom and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior," a dejected but defiant Pritzker said. "You come for my people, you come through me."
Pritzker assured worried Illinoisans the state would remain a sanctuary for immigrants, the LGBTQ+ population, and women seeking reproductive care.
He said he would sue the federal government if Trump tries to withhold federal public safety money as retaliation for being a sanctuary state for immigrants.
Pritzker added that the combative relationship with the president-elect won’t cost Illinois precious federal resources for roads, bridges, and transit.
"Federal infrastructure dollars are decided on a non-political basis. Trust me, I’ve contacted lots of people in the federal govt to make sure they know what Illinois needs."
Pritzker said he and the state have been here before, overlapping two years with Trump’s first term.
As for political lessons for Democrats, Pritzker said he has to wait and see what the data shows, but said down-ballot Democrats did well even in areas where Trump bested Vice President Kamala Harris.
However, he said Harris might have fared better had Biden dropped out earlier.
"107 days is how much Kamala Harris had to run that campaign. That’s an extraordinarily short period of time. She did an extraordinary job making that job as competitive as she could, but more time would’ve been better," he said.
Pritzker said he’s not ready to announce whether he would seek a third term as Illinois governor but has no plans to run for anything beyond that.