Pritzker says he’ll lead Illinois as resistance state to Trump
"I'm proud to be part of the resistance," Pritzker told a group of supporters, using downtown's
On Monday, Pritzker unveiled plans such as expanded availability of health care and protections for gay rights and immigrants. His comments were symbolic of the effort by Democratic contenders to try to tap into progressive anger toward Trump, as well as to try to tie the president to the state's first-term
Rauner rarely has discussed Trump in public, let alone provide responses to reporter questions involving the
It is a delicate political effort ahead of a re-election bid as Rauner tries to maintain Trump's base in rural parts of the state while working to avoid creating problems in the more moderate but vote-heavy
Pritzker, a billionaire entrepreneur and investor, maintained Rauner was "playing in tandem" with Trump.
"If you're governor of a state and you have nothing to say when the president attacks the people that you represent, you are complicit," Pritzker said of the governor.
"It takes a tough, stand-up governor to stand up to the president of
Rauner's camp has said the governor was "concerned" about the Republican effort in
Pritzker is one of eight announced candidates for the Democratic nomination. He proposed expanding the availability of health care for middle-income families by offering a "public option" insurance plan that would exist alongside private health insurance but offer lower premiums.
He said his plan would allow families to purchase coverage through "our existing public medical assistance programs" and that it would not cost state taxpayers additional money. But he did not detail the proposal or whether it was reliant on federal funding and approval, which could be questionable when
Discussion of public-option plans has created some concerns from insurers who don't want greater government involvement in health care and among providers who are concerned such a system would result in lower payments, reducing the availability of doctors. Some
In addition to health care and immigration, Pritzker vowed programs that would lead to universal preschool and adhering to international carbon standards rejected by the Trump administration.
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