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Gov. JB Pritzker is \u201cOK\u201d with being a billionaire, takes pride in bucking a tradition of Illinois governors doing prison time and said he\u2019s \u201cpreserving democracy\u201d by taking in Texas Democrats in an appearance Tuesday on \u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert.\u201d <\/p>\n
Pritzker is once again in the national spotlight for harboring dozens of Texas House Democrats as they break quorum in order to stop Texas Republicans from enacting a redistricting plan that would net the state an additional five seats in Congress, at the behest of President Donald Trump amid concerns Republicans will lose their majority in the House of Representatives next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell ,Donald Trump is trying to steal five seats from the people, frankly from the country , not just the people of Texas and disenfranchise people. We\u2019re talking about violating the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution,\u201d Pritzker said. \u201c… Where did they decide to come to? The safe haven of the state of Illinois. And we\u2019re going to protect them and take care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colbert asked Pritzker whether Illinois is considering new maps, should Texas go through with its plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s possible. And I\u2019ve said everything is on the table. We gotta fight fire with fire. They frankly tossed the rule book out and they\u2019re just acting in an unconstitutional fashion, and what we\u2019re gonna have to do is whatever it takes to preserve democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The late night host held up a map of Illinois\u2019 congressional districts, noting the unusual shapes of the 17th and 13th congressional districts, as the state becomes a focal point during the latest redistricting talks. Republicans hold just three congressional seats in a state that saw 43.8% vote for Trump last year. The maps Illinois Democrats approved in 2021 sealed in their political power for a decade.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like the stinger on a scorpion down there,\u201d Colbert said of the 13th District, which stretches from central to southern Illinois. \u201cIs this common for all states to do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe handed it over to a kindergarten class and let them decide,\u201d Pritzker joked. \u201c…That\u2019s our independent commission.\u201d<\/p>\n In asking why a billionaire would want to be a governor, Colbert said it\u2019s \u201cnot a very popular thing to be right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m OK with it,\u201d Pritzker said to laughs. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re OK with it, I\u2019m sure,\u201d Colbert said. \u201cYou know what? That shows real courage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got to stand up for my people,\u201d Pritzker said. <\/p>\n Pritzker credited his mother<\/a>, who died when he was 17, for showing him how to be an activist and advocate for reproductive rights. He said he \u201cabsorbed a lot of her enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think you know this, that when you lose a parent when you\u2019re young or during your lifetime, you\u2019re hoping to, in some way, honor them and in fact to fulfill something that they may have wanted to do during their lifetimes,\u201d Pritzker said. \u201cAnd so standing up for people\u2019s rights and making sure that we\u2019re making life more affordable, raising the minimum wage, protecting people from the onslaught of somebody like Donald Trump. That\u2019s something my mother would be out doing right now, and so I\u2019m very proud.\u201d <\/p>\n Colbert told Pritzker that he\u2019d be the first Democratic governor in Illinois to finish two terms by next January, because \u201ca lot of them end up in the hoosegow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. It\u2019s extraordinary to stay out of prison,\u201d Pritzker said. “…Believe me, I think about Donald Trump picking me up and taking me to El Salvador, or to the gulag. So I hope that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d <\/p>\n Pritzker said he once showed his son a book in the governor\u2019s mansion in Springfield that featured the names and pictures of all Illinois governors dating back to 1818.<\/p>\n \u201cI turned to the most recent page. I started counting, and I said, \u2018There\u2019s a 40% chance I\u2019ll end up in prison at the end of this. But if you accept my collect calls, we can talk all the time,\u2019\u201d Pritzker said to laughs. \u201cThat did not make him feel all that comfortable about me being governor, I have to say.\u201d<\/p>\n The show opened with a satirical montage dedicated to Texas Democrats fleeing to the Windy City. It ended with Pritzker doing a shot of Mal\u00f6rt, Chicago\u2019s much-beloved, or much-hated, liqueur.<\/p>\n Pritzker has publicly, and repeatedly, shown his ability to do a shot of Mal\u00f6rt, including in a \u201cDaily Show\u201d segment ahead of the DNC<\/u><\/a>, and in an MSNBC segment with Jen Psaki.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf you come to Chicago, every Chicagoan knows you\u2019ve got to have a shot of Mal\u00f6rt,\u201d he told Psaki. \u201cI\u2019m not saying it\u2019s the best-tasting liqueur. I\u2019m just saying that it\u2019s the one that if you want to prove your mettle, you\u2019ve got to have a shot of Malort.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n