“Bruce Rauner believes that every dollar out the door is an expense in government. I believe you can make investments that have a real payoff for the state and for working families, including investing in higher education, including investing in early education. Those are investments for the future, not expenses.”
“We've got to invest in our workforce, something [Gov.] Bruce Rauner has failed to do. We've got to build up our community colleges and our universities, but also vocational training and high schools. So the people who choose not to go to college have the ability to get a job that will pay a head-of-household wage.”
“I think diverting money away from public schools right now to private tuition tax credits seems like a really bad idea. We need to make sure we're funding our public schools before we start talking about anything.”
JB Pritzker comes from a long line of Chicagoans and has always fought to protect Illinois students, educators, and workers. In 2014, he expanded an Obama Administration program and brought school breakfast to 230,000 low-income students in Illinois. He supports universal pre-K and organized the 2014 White House Summit on Early Childhood Education—established to expand nationwide access to preschool.
JB’s work doesn’t stop at education. He knows that that unions lead to economic success for working families and supports workers’ rights. He publicly criticized Governor Rauner’s proposed right-to-work legislation and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against labor unions. And he has a proven track record of support for workers. His non-profit incubator, 1871, has created 7,000 new jobs in Illinois.
The Illinois Education Association has endorsed JB, citing his promises to defend collective bargaining rights and invest in public education. JB has also earned the endorsement of the Illinois AFL-CIO.
