POLITICO – Well, look who’s headed to Florida — a blue-state governor who’s emerging as a potential presidential contender.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who is running for reelection this year, will be the keynote speaker at the annual Leadership Blue Gala that Florida Democrats will hold this Saturday in Tampa.
Pritzker’s appearance comes nearly two weeks after the mass shooting in Highland Park thrust him into the national spotlight.
“Florida is in dire need of a pro-choice, Democratic governor …” –Spokeswoman for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
Pritzker’s reaction — where he said he was angry and furious about gun violence in the nation — was seen by some as an illustration of the type of passion Democrats need heading into the midterms and 2024.
Pritzker’s decision visit to Florida will also be sure to stoke long-running whispers about a possible presidential bid, especially since he’s spending time in the home state of Gov. Ron DeSantis, himself a potential GOP presidential candidate.
“Florida is in dire need of a pro-choice, Democratic governor, and Governor Pritzker is proud to support the Florida Democratic Party in their efforts to flip the state blue,” campaign spokeswoman Natalie Edelstein told POLITICO’s Illinois Playbook.
Pritzker, a billionaire with a second home in Florida, is visiting when Florida Democrats are bracing for a bad election season … read more.
Pritzker to call special session on abortion
Peter Hancock, June 28, 2022
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker will call a special session of the General Assembly in the coming weeks to focus on legislation to strengthen women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health services in Illinois.
Pritzker made that announcement Friday, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court released an opinion overturning the landmark 1973 abortion rights case Roe v. Wade.
“We knew this day was coming,” Pritzker said at a hastily called news conference in Chicago. “The extremists on the Supreme Court have made an abhorrent decision, one rooted in partisanship, leaving an indelible stain on our nation.”
Pritzker had already been scheduled to hold a news conference Friday to highlight legislation he signed recently expanding access to medication that protects against HIV infection. But the Supreme Court’s decision, released shortly after 9 a.m., upended those plans and set off a flurry of reaction, both for and against the ruling.
“Today, Illinois Right to Life joins millions of Americans in celebrating the end of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that has denied over 63 million preborn children their most fundamental right: life,” the Illinois Right to Life organization said in a statement. “With today’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, states have regained the ability to protect preborn children and their mothers.”
Attorney General Kwame Raoul criticized the decision in a statement.
“I am extremely disappointed with today’s Supreme Court decision, which jeopardizes the health, the safety and the lives of millions of women in the United States – especially those who already have the least access to health care and other resources,” he said. “This single decision rolls back 50 years of court precedent and with it, decades of progress toward reproductive autonomy.”
Illinois is among the states with laws already on the books protecting access to abortion. In 2018, the state adopted a law allowing public funding of abortion through its Medicaid program. And in 2019, lawmakers passed the sweeping Reproductive Health Act which, among other things, enshrines abortion access as a “fundamental right” in Illinois law … READ MORE.
