RESENDING THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Pritzker's announcement day...More Raoul suits against Trump
Yes, I goofed on the initial headline. I’m a combination of dumb and sleep deprived. Thanks for pointing it out.
June 26, 2025
Good morning, Illinois.
Governor Pritzker’s campaign announcement day is here and it’s going to dominate the news cycle for a couple of days. We’ve been talking about it on the radio here, here, here, here, and here. Come get nerdy.
Governor Pritzker announces his run for re-election in Chicago at 10, Rockford at 1:30, Peoria at 4:30, and Springfield at 6:30.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Gov. JB Pritzker to announce he’s running for a third term in 2026 (Chicago Tribune)
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker will announce Thursday that he will seek a third term next year, answering a question about his immediate political future but leaving unanswered whether he will pursue a longer-term goal of running for president in 2028.
Multiple sources close to Pritzker’s campaign confirmed to the Tribune Tuesday that the governor will make the announcement at in-person events in Chicago and Springfield, though exact details of what it will entail have not yet been finalized. Democratic supporters Monday were invited to a campaign announcement for Pritzker but were not told the details.
He is the first incumbent governor to seek a third term as chief executive since the late former Republican Gov. James R. Thompson, who went on to serve four terms. Illinois has no term limits on its constitutional offices.
Pritzker’s decision becomes the most significant in a series of moves in the early 2026 political season that is poised to remake Illinois’ political landscape. The generational domino effect has already seen longtime politicians opt to retire or pursue higher office, moves that have created new openings for political ladder-climbers beneath them.
But the governor’s move also allows Illinois’ ruling Democrats to breathe a sigh of relief, leaving in place the powerful billionaire force who has led them both politically and financially for the past 6 ½ years. It also helps the party avoid the prospect of a fractious, contentious and costly primary battle to succeed him.
With his two-term running mate, Juliana Stratton, among the contenders seeking to replace retiring senior U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Pritzker does have to decide who will join him on the ticket as a lieutenant governor candidate — and who has his confidence to succeed him if he embarks on a successful presidential bid.
Related: Gov. JB Pritzker to announce run for third term Thursday, sources say (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pritzker to announce he's running for a third term (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Governor Illinois JB Pritzker to seek a 3rd term amid questions about higher political ambitions (Associated Press)
Gov. JB Pritzker is aiming for his third term amid a presidential buzz (Daily Herald)
Editorial: Rahm versus JB in a presidential primary? Bring it on. (Chicago Tribune)
Attorney General Raoul joins lawsuit challenging Trump’s termination of federal grants (Capitol News Illinois)
Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced this week he has joined another multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to withhold billions of dollars in federal funds that had previously been approved for states and other grantees.
The complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, challenges several actions the administration has taken since Trump returned to office Jan. 20 that involved terminating federal grants that had previously been approved by various agencies.
Each of those actions, the lawsuit argues, were based on a misuse of a single clause in one regulation under the federal Office of Management and Budget. That clause allows agencies to terminate a grant if the agency determines the award “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”
“The Trump Administration has claimed that five words in this Clause — ‘no longer effectuates . . . agency priorities’ — provide federal agencies with virtually unfettered authority to withhold federal funding any time they no longer wish to support the programs for which Congress has appropriated funding,” the lawsuit alleges.
The suit is one of more than a dozen Raoul has joined as part of a coalition of Democratic attorneys general who have been battling the administration since Trump’s second inauguration in January.
Speaking Monday to a congressional panel made up of Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate judiciary committees, Raoul joined three other members of that coalition to explain their litigation campaign.
“Whether or not I disagree with President Trump on his policy agenda, he must act in a lawful way that is consistent with the Constitution and the laws that Congress has enacted,” Raoul said. “Unfortunately, the president and his administration have chosen, with many of their actions, to ignore the Constitution and federal law. And when constitutional guarantees are ignored, all Americans are at risk.”
TOP STORIES SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Pope Leo XIV among 1 in 4 Illinoisans with unclaimed property (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Recent political violence in the United States has local elected officials concerned about the causes (Chicago Tribune)
Supreme Court won't hear appeal over Illinois' COVID vaccine mandate (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois’ soil conservation funding stagnates amid recent high-profile dust storms (Capitol News Illinois)
Despite moves by Indiana lawmakers, Illinois’ borders are unlikely to change. Here’s why. (Chicago Tribune)
Illinois confirms first 2025 human case of West Nile virus (News-Sun)
Illinois must build 227,000 units in 5 years to keep up with housing demand, report finds (Chicago Tribune)
Challenges persist for women, minorities breaking into Illinois’ skilled trades (Capitol News Illinois)
Lake County’s congressmen weigh in on Iran bombing; ‘The right decision by an administration and president that usually make the wrong one’ (Chicago Tribune)
Top candidates for the US House in Illinois’ 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th districts for the 2026 election (Chicago Tribune)
Skokie attorney joins race for Schakowsky’s congressional seat (Daily Herald)
After narrow loss in 2024, Peterson making second bid for state House (Daily Herald)
Editorial: The legislative shell game: GOP lawsuit draws attention to a practice that threatens faith in government (Daily Herald)
Opinion: Chicago got it right on rideshare rules — now it's Springfield's turn (Crain’s Chicago Business)
JOIN US