Free college, universal preschool: Pritzker vows 'ambitious' second-term agenda during inauguration
SPRINGFIELD - Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday offered up bold promises in his second inaugural address, vowing free college tuition for working-class families and more affordable and widespread health care and child care.
The Chicago Democrat and multibillionaire sketched an agenda he called as "bold as our people are, thinking not only about the next four years, but about the next 40."
In a speech that paid respects to a nurse who died from COVID-19, victims of gun violence and even former Gov. Dwight Green, the governor also vowed to "fight against a rising tide of hate," protect women's reproductive rights and finally get the ban on high-powered weapons passed.
"I'm tired of living in a world where a mass shooting needs a title so you know which one we're referring to," Pritzker said. "Hospitals, high schools, homes, parades, offices - there is no place, geographic or otherwise, that has been spared from the threat of gun violence."
Pritzker's 25-minute inaugural address was reflective and optimistic - and very different from previous inaugural addresses that ticked off many of the state's deep problems. It also offered a glimpse - but not a lot of details - into his second-term policies, which took a back seat during a contentious political battle against Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey.
The lengthy ceremony also featured the inauguration of all of the state's constitutional officers, including the official political comeback of Alexi Giannoulias, a former state treasurer who was sworn in as Illinois secretary of state to replace retiring Jesse White.
Read the Chicago Sun-Times' full story at chicago.suntimes.com.