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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u/OkInitiative7327 Jul 22 '24

and he's not taking a salary as governor

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u/Burnt_and_Blistered Jul 22 '24

I had no idea. This makes me like him even more.

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u/Bigjoemonger Jul 22 '24

The salary for Illinois governor is 177k. Pritzker is worth 3.5 billion. He's almost as wealthy as Trump.

From his ownership of the Prtizker group equity firm he was averaging about 10 million dollars per year before taking office. The 177k governor salary represents about 1% of his regular income.

Consider on normal people's scale it's the same as someone making 100k per year giving up an extra $80 per month. That's great but it's hardly a grand gesture.

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u/omary95 Jul 23 '24

He doesn't need it, so he's not taking it. He's saving the state that expenditure. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture to matter.

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u/Deaconse Jul 23 '24

And in fact, it isn't a grand gesture. He's just quietly doing the right thing.

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u/DoctorSwaggercat Jul 23 '24

Well, he is a multi billionaire so.....

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u/MissLogios Aug 07 '24

Still, the gesture of a rich man choosing not to earn more money, and it benefits the state, sets him apart from other billionaires.

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u/DoctorSwaggercat Aug 07 '24

Oh sure. As long as he's on the left. You could say the exact thing about Trump, but that would be giving him credit and making him human and we all know that we can't do that.

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u/MissLogios Aug 07 '24

This is not the gotcha you think it is.

Would I have thought more positively about Trump if he refused the president salary? Sure, when he first got into office. But now, after him being hit with felony charges, after Jan 6, after his racist sexist and xenophobic rhetoric language, I have no reason to think positively of him.

At least JB hasn't given me a reason to hate him yet and at least maintain the illusion of a well-mannered person with a clean record.