Pritzker announces for governor

CHICAGO — Billionaire J.B. Pritzker launched his official bid for Illinois governor on Thursday, surrounded by supporters and family at an event on the city’s South Side.

The Democrat, a major supporter to Hillary Clinton and recently named by Forbes the third wealthiest person in Illinois, said he would self-fund his campaign for office.


The billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune used part of his announcement to call for a change the state’s tax system to tax the wealthy at a higher rate.

Pritzker becomes the sixth Democrat to officially announce he’s running in the crowded gubernatorial primary and the third -- along with state Sen. Daniel Biss and Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar -- to advocate for a progressive income tax in Illinois.

Chicago businessman Chris Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, is also vying for the Democratic nomination along with Madison County schools superintendent Bob Daiber and Vernon Hills business owner Alex Paterakis.

In his announcement speech, Pritzker sharply attacked Gov. Bruce Rauner, calling him a “failure” for the GOP’s inability to pass a budget over the last two years and accusing him of holding the state “hostage to his right-wing agenda.”

“Gov. Bruce Rauner is a failure. He promised a turnaround and all we got was the runaround. He said he would stand up to the special interests and instead he’s become his own special interest,” Pritzker said. “He said he wanted to shake up Springfield, but instead he’s tearing it down.”

During his remarks, and later while talking with the media, Pritzker repeatedly drew parallels between Rauner, President Donald Trump and the Koch Brothers.

“Everything we care about is under siege by Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner,” he said.

Pritzker said he created thousands of jobs through his founding of Chicago’s tech hub 1871.

Before he even set foot on the stage, however, the Illinois Republican Party was on the attack.

“Political insider J.B. Pritzker is the financial muscle behind Mike Madigan's political machine, funneling over a million dollars to help him in just the last year. And like Madigan, Pritzker wants to hike the income tax to over 5 percent without any fixes to repair Illinois,” spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said in a statement. “One can only imagine the devastation Mike Madigan could do with a lapdog billionaire at his side. Pritzker puts the insiders first and the taxpayers last.”

Pritzker’s announcement comes after he filed papers last month for an exploratory run. The Democratic Governors Association has called Rauner one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country.