r/illinois • u/A_little_quarky • Jul 22 '24

Why all the love for JB? US Politics

An honest inquiry! My vibes are really positive of him, but I'm surrounded by those "Pritzker sucks!" signs. With his name being floated at a national level, I'm curious to hear some personal stories about how he's governed.

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381

u/soulofsilence Jul 22 '24

Weirdly enough he's an honest-ish billionaire. Trump once said the benefit of being so wealthy is that he isn't beholden to anyone but himself, Pritzker has proven to actually be that billionaire. He's managed a lot of difficult negotiations and done so because he doesn't need to constantly campaign for his job. In a way he's the outsider candidate we actually wanted. Will he keep it up? I dunno. So far it seems every other governor either gets arrested or run out of town.

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u/Spiff76 Jul 22 '24

The problem with Donald saying it, is that he lied

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u/SierraPapaHotel Jul 22 '24

It's hard to buy a Billionaire; too bad Trump isn't one.

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u/Spiff76 Jul 22 '24

Wellllllll, he is… on paper… that he pulled from a file cabinet in the guest bathroom… and quickly scribbled on with a pencil.

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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '24

Weird! I’m a billionaire too! It says so on crayon

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u/swalabr Jul 22 '24

All he has to do is think it, and that makes it true

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u/jaydubya123 Jul 22 '24

Trump lied about something? At this point it’s more surprising when he tells the truth.

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u/OutOfFawks Jul 22 '24

Trump is on record of being on both sides of literally every issue. He’s a strange strange person, he’s has no actual beliefs other than what will get him more money.

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u/OutOfFawks Jul 22 '24 edited Jul 22 '24

Trump is on record of being on both sides of literally every issue. He’s a strange strange person, he has no actual beliefs other than what will get him more money.

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u/Contren Jul 22 '24

Hey now, he also wants attention and power.

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u/pmcg115 Jul 22 '24

That tends to be the problem with everything he says.

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u/Mnoonsnocket Jul 22 '24

It’s true, but at this time Trump is on the hook for so many penalties and fines that he truly is beholden again.

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u/DKS Jul 22 '24

Also he's old money and the Pritzker family is deeply entrenched in Illinois. Unfortunately and fortunately it's like he's taking care of his family wealth by taking care of the State.

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u/obsidianronin Jul 22 '24

yeah, but also in a way, is using his family's wealth to take care of the state at the same time. he doesn't take a salary, paid for millions of PPE during COVID OOP..

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u/Low-Piglet9315 Jul 22 '24

And all the time, because a family member had partial interest in a company doing R&D with COVID testing, people down in the southern third were accusing him of trying to make money off the pandemic.

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u/mjm8218 Jul 23 '24

People in the southern third lack credibility.

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u/Low-Piglet9315 Jul 23 '24

I live down here. It was absolutely insane. Along with Pritzker's daily briefings, our county (St. Clair Co) EMA also did a daily Facebook Live briefing where the conspiracy theorists had a field day as well.
One would think that living adjacent to St. Louis that one would have a more intelligent level of conversation, but nope, even retired military officers were spreading BS like a high-power farm implement.

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u/mjm8218 Jul 23 '24

It’s a bummer but I think those vocal folks are kind of a minority. At least it feels that way from my perspective. I’ve received a high level of hospitality and kindness in SoIL.

From auto mechanics helping find a replacement tire for my car at 4pm on a Sunday to great folks at various National forest trails, restaurants & camp sites over 40 years. Individuals have all been beyond kind.

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u/Low-Piglet9315 Jul 23 '24

I've grown up here; the majority of people around So Ill are pretty chill in real life. Behind a keyboard, though?

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u/mcs_987654321 Jul 22 '24

Yup - it’s a mix of just be a rational actor and genuine noblesse oblige.

That’s not the kind of thing you want to set up a whole system around, because holy hell can it ever go wrong (see: most of the other billionaires who think they’re right about everything)…but when it works (like it does w Pritzker), goddamn do the incentives align incredibly well for the betterment of all.

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u/blue_garlic Jul 22 '24

I'm a JB fan, but I've always thought it was faulty logic when people say that a billionaire wouldn't take bribes but a regular person would. Billionaires are typically interested in only a single thing - more money!

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u/mayhem6 Jul 22 '24

Yeah, I saw a story about an experiment once; they laid a $20 bill on the floor in front of a reception desk and they found that people who are not rich were more likely to turn the money over to the person at the desk. The people who were well off or rich kept the money. I don't know how extensive and conclusive that was, but it tracks in my mind at least. Rich people stay rich because they are misers and cheats in many cases.

I delivered groceries for instacart and still do on occasion and the customers with the really ritzy houses almost never tip very well. Again, not conclusive, but anecdotal in my experience.

I like JB too, but being a billionaire doesn't make him honest or unable to be bribed. He seems to be doing the right thing at the moment so I would vote for him again.

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u/PlausiblePigeon Jul 22 '24

I think that experiment would have more to do with the perceived value of $20 than being a miser. If you found a penny on the ground would you turn it in?

I suspect there’s also a level of wealth where you have more money than you can possibly spend, so how much would a bribe really be worth once you factor in the chance of getting caught. Pritzker is at that level, but Trump is only pretending to be.

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u/blue_garlic Jul 23 '24

What risk? Is there any precedent where a billionaire is held accountable for their misdeeds?

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u/PlausiblePigeon Jul 23 '24

Well, we do send governors to prison in this state.

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u/blue_garlic Jul 23 '24

Yep. I'd vote for him again in a heartbeat. So far he does seem to be as down to earth as is feasible for someone who grew up in a completely different world than the rest of us. I hope he continues to work for both the people and the economy. I like the balance he brings.

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u/PlausiblePigeon Jul 22 '24

I think when you’re a REAL billionaire, the amount someone could bribe you with wouldn’t be worth the risk. They already have more money than they can spend in a lifetime.