Illinois Governor J. D. Pritzker Steps Forward and Tells the Truth

Illinois Governor J. D. Pritzker, State of the State Address, 2025 

Democrats seem to be lacking leadership.  I think a real leader just stepped to the podium in Springfield, Illinois, and identified himself as one.  

Don't be surprised.  This governor has demonstrated the kind of leadership it takes to get things done and make government work on behalf of the people.  I was here in Illinois during the COVID pandemic, and the disaster that the pandemic proved to be in so many states, where leaders were in denial, or working in ignorance, didn't materialize in this, the sixth most populous state in the country.  In Illinois, we had leadership that worked to make things happen for the benefit of the people, not just during the pandemic.  the conservative right has had to come up with a whole new set of lies about Illinois, when it comes to crime rates, fiscal soundness, taxes, public services and all of the things touched by state government because ours is working, and we have a leader who knows what he is doing.  

I don't know what happened to Democrats, politically, over the past four years.  We caved in some places, played the same old, tired game of compromise with the minority during Biden's first two years that really wasn't necessary.  Then, instead of party leadership stepping up, recognizing that we would need to run a full Presidential campaign, and that Biden needed to go with the original "transitional presidency" plan, we let the same old, worn out protocols push a second Biden campaign for President.  

I was disappointed that Biden didn't make the decision not to run again when he ought to have made it, a full year before he did, but there weren't any other leaders stepping up to the plate, and we were still playing games after narrowly losing the house in the mid-terms.  

There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm surrounding the Harris-Walz campaign.  But they lost, passed off the stage quickly, went into radio silence and left the party where it is now, in the wake of a second Trump term implementing Project 2025 point by point, based on every single point of its false assertions.  Our members in congress, some of them, are making a little bit of noise.  A few have capitulated.  

But I think, after yesterday's speech, we have a real leader.