In a rambling State of the State address, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) accused the Trump administration of illegally withholding $8.4 billion in federal funds from Illinois, because of the state’s sanctuary immigration policies, which has affected healthcare, transportation, and other programs.
Losing his composure, Pritzker described the funds as taxpayer dollars approved by Congress, not handouts, and urged fiscal conservatives to demand their return before discussing the FY 2027 budget. Pritzker highlighted ongoing court fights, including blocked attempts to withhold $600 million in public health funding and $10 billion in social services.
“$8.4 billion dollars. That is how much the Trump administration has cost the people of Illinois,” the Democrat claimed, “Alongside many other states, Illinois is fighting more than 50 cases in court where the federal government is illegally confiscating money that has already been promised and appropriated by Congress to the people of Illinois.”
Still not done, Governor Pritzker then added, rambling near-incoherently about taxes paid to the federal government, “These are not handouts. These are dollars that real Illinoisans paid in federal taxes and that have been constitutionally approved by our elected Democratic and Republican representatives in Washington.”
Building on his last point, the far-left sanctuary state governor stated, “Unlike the federal government, every year Illinois must balance its budget. When Donald Trump is taking resources away that are rightfully ours, none of us — Democrats or Republicans — should be ok with that.”
Attacking the president, Pritzker declared, “On top of the cost inflicted on this state’s residents — billions in illegally withheld funds — our state is also forced to spend enormous time and taxpayer money going to court and fighting to get what is rightfully ours. A heinous example of the government’s waste and fraud if I have ever seen one.”
“It is impossible to tally the hours, days, and weeks our state government has spent chasing news of Presidential executive orders, letters, and edicts that read like proclamations from the Lollipop Guild,” the disrespectful politician asserted, attacking President Trump with a vengeance.
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Then, upping the ante by bringing in pointless culture war talking points, Pritzker whined, “Here’s just one glaring example: The Trump administration — out of the blue — asked the Illinois Department of Transportation to spend state money getting rid of rainbow crosswalks in Chicago.”
“Refusing to take accountability, the Illinois Democrat said, “Meanwhile, the President is making life harder and less affordable with tariff taxes on working families and small businesses, trade wars devastating farmers, cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and education, imposing increased bureaucracy on states, lower job creation than any year since Trump’s first term.”
“And while Donald Trump says it’s a “hellhole” here, 113 million domestic and international visitors still flock to Illinois – spending a record $48.5 billion, driving an all-time high in hotel tax revenue and restoring O’Hare as the busiest airport in the nation,” the tactless Democrat argued.
Concluding his comments, he raved, “We won’t let headwinds from Washington stop us from addressing the fact that Illinoisans, like Americans everywhere, are still paying too much for groceries, too much for housing, too much for electricity, too much to live. Everything is just too d**ned expensive.”
Watch Pritzker freak out here: