Billionaire Pritzker Takes Second Oath as Governor of Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP) — Billionaire JB Pritzker, whose behavior over the past year suggests he may be eyeing a presidential run, announced Monday that he will serve as governor of Illinois for the second time. I took the oath of office.

First Democrat to serve as Governor of Illinois Second term four years No governor has served a second full term since Jim Edgar left Springfield in 1999.

Pritzker, who turns 58 this month, had mixed financial success in the fall’s second gubernatorial election, winning 55% of the vote against Republican state Senator Darren Bailey.

Bailey was one of those who noticed the possibility that Pritzker was looking beyond Lincoln’s land and pleaded with the governor. in two television debates Join him in signing a pledge to serve the full term if elected. He was reacting to Pritzker’s summer trips to early presidential primary districts in New Hampshire to raise millions of dollars for Democrats across the country. No, and supports the re-election of President Joe Biden.

But in his Election Day victory speech, the second-term governor appealed to a wide constituency, barely mentioned Illinois, and indirectly criticized former Republican President Donald Trump, who is seeking a second term in 2024. . “Cure the disease” and make it worse as “insurgents break down the doors of the US Capitol.”

Equity investor and philanthropist Pritzker, whose family founded the Hyatt hotel chain, said: 310th richest person, According to Forbes magazine, he has a net worth of $3.6 billion.

In 2018, the son and nephew of the founder of the Hyatt hotel chain took office largely over voter dissatisfaction with then-Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. red ink book.

Pritzker has at one point overseen a mountain of debt payments, including $17 billion in delinquent bills to vendors. He has steered the state through an uphill battle against the deadly new coronavirus, finally ending carbon-producing electricity production by 2025, and signed legislation raising the minimum wage to $15. . Consecutively Balanced Budget: This fiscal year ends with his $3.7 billion surplus, which is virtually unprecedented.

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