Daywatch: From political neophyte to governor — and potential presidential candidate

Chicago Tribune

27-06-2025

Good morning, Chicago.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker this week set out to make history, launching his bid to become the first Illinois governor since the 1980s to be elected to more than two terms in office.
A win next year also would make Pritzker, 60, the first Democrat ever in Illinois to win three terms. Republican James R. Thompson was Illinois' longest-serving governor, winning election four times straight and holding the office from 1977 to 1991.
A century earlier, when the Grand Old Party was a new force in politics, Republican Richard Oglesby won three nonconsecutive elections, in 1864, '72 and '84, although he resigned 10 days after being sworn in for his second term to join the U.S. Senate. Two other Republicans, Dwight Green in 1948 and William Stratton in 1960, made unsuccessful third-term attempts, losing to Democrats Adlai Stevenson II and Otto Kerner, respectively.
Pritzker is not expected to have significant competition for the Democratic primary in March and it remains to be seen whether any high-profile Republicans will mount a campaign to challenge him in November 2026. He's also publicly flirted with the idea of running for president in 2028.
So as Pritzker embarks on another campaign, here's a look back at how the Hyatt Hotels heir went from political neophyte to 43rd governor of Illinois and potential Democratic presidential contender.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including why transportation workers needed to lay new pavement along the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course, the latest dispatch from our reporting pair traveling Route 66 and what to do in Chicago this weekend.
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The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to President Donald Trump's tax cut and spending bill does not adhere to the chamber's procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow as Republicans rush to finish the package this week.
After Juan Luna graduated from Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School in early June, he stood in the lobby and cried. Juan came to Chicago alone from Mexico for his senior year, and the end of school meant the end of the community that had acted as his family. He decided to move in with his godfather, who lives in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, to finish high school and pursue a college degree in architecture.
But since arriving in the United States, Juan has become disillusioned with the opportunities that are actually available to him. He's watched as President Donald Trump has threatened programs that could have helped him.
Newly-appointed interim schools chief Macquline King addressed her first Chicago Board of Education meeting yesterday, affirming that the passage of the district's budget for the upcoming school year remains her top priority.
Chicago Public Schools faces a $730 million shortfall for fiscal year 2026, King told board members — $201 million more than the district had previously stated. Though the budget is typically released in June, district officials have yet to finalize a spending plan — or say how they plan to address the deficit.
Weeks after President Donald Trump commuted the federal life sentence of Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, a letter arrived at the offices of Gov. JB Pritzker that purported to be Hoover's final push for freedom: asking for clemency in his state murder case.
At first glance, the petition might seem to be a legitimate plea from Hoover himself, using similar language about atonement and redemption that the imprisoned gang leader has used in numerous previous requests for parole and clemency from the courts. But a closer inspection revealed some telltale signs that the document, first obtained by the Tribune through a public records request, is likely a fake.
Two of the Chicago region's largest independent real estate firms announced yesterday that they will merge operations, forming what company leaders say will be the second largest brokerage in Chicagoland, based on 2024 sales volume.
The NASCAR Chicago Street Race is still more than a week away, but Mother Nature is already burning up the track.
The heat dome that descended on Chicago last weekend with unrelenting temperatures caused buckling pavement on a stretch of the pop-up race course, forcing the city to close some streets ahead of schedule to repair the damage.
The Bulls made a swap Thursday morning with the Los Angeles Lakers, trading the No. 45 pick for the 55th pick and cash considerations.
A native of Adelaide, Lachlan Olbrich started his professional career in the Australian National Basketball League in 2021 at age 17. He came to the U.S. and played one year of college basketball at UC Riverside, where he was named Big West Freshman of the Year after averaging 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras told St. Louis reporters he knows Chicago Cubs closer Daniel Palencia wasn't trying to throw a fastball at his face, but it wasn't long ago he broke a finger when hit by a pitch that ended his 2024 season.
You're a kid. You catch a few seconds of something strange on TV. Those few seconds have a way, sometimes, of paying a call decades later, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
It happened to author, critic and film curator Michael Koresky. His absorbing new book is 'Sick and Dirty: Hollywood's Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness,' and just as he was writing its final chapter, he dredged up a fuzzy memory of seeing something on his grandmother Bertha's TV set when he was around 10.
Our picks for events in and around Chicago this weekend, including Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Volleyball Nations League and Jeff Goldblum in concert.
There was no warning siren, only the sudden sound of what seemed at first like a locomotive speeding through her neighborhood a mile off Route 66. Lea Davis heard trees snapping. Glass shattering. The front door to her 122-year-old two-flat slammed open and shut. Open and shut. She thought to grab her partner, Reginald, who is blind, and run to the basement, but figured they might not make it in time. They could take shelter in the closet, she thought, or the bathtub.
'You didn't have much time to think,' Davis, 55 remembered of that May 16 afternoon. 'The only thing I could say was: Jesus, please save us. Please help us.'
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