Billionaire JB Pritzker to announce Illinois governor bid

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Billionaire businessman J.B. Pritzker was expected to announce his bid for Illinois governor on Thursday, raising the financial stakes in what was already expected to be a costly and competitive fight to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

"Grateful to have my family by my side today. Getting ready for the big announcement!" Pritzker tweeted Thursday morning above a picture with his family, including his young son who was holding a sign that read, "My Dad J.B. for Governor."

Pritzker's campaign confirmed the tweet but did not offer further details ahead of a planned afternoon announcement at a city park facility on Chicago's South Side. Last month, Pritzker filed paperwork with state election officials to form an exploratory committee.

Several other Democrats also have said they'll seek their party's nomination in the March gubernatorial primary, including state Sen. Daniel Biss, Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar and businessman Chris Kennedy, who is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy.

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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c46045dd018f4b689a70b747b4e7ff4b/billionaire-jb-pritzker-announce-illinois-governor-bid

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By SARA BURNETT and SOPHIA TAREEN
Apr. 6, 2017 12:00 PM EDT

[mopinko]

1. personally i think he is wasting his money.

replacing one rich guy w another rich guy doesnt seem very viable to me. both biss and pawar have the progressive cred that ought to be the ticket.

that said, pritzker has done a lot of good in my hood. his construction co has done some beautiful rehabs of historic buildings. course, there is plenty of "eat the rich" resistance to him. but...

[Jose Garcia]

2. Yes, because rich guys are always terrible public servents

[yurbud]

3. who was a good one after JFK?

[Jose Garcia]

4. Senator Mark Warner has a net worth of over $90 million

[mopinko]

8. and how much were these 3 guys worth when they

got elected in the first place?

[Jose Garcia]

10. All three became rich before being elected

Blumenthal married a wealthy woman in 1982. His first election was as a State Representative in 1984

Jared Polis made his fortune by founding several technology companies in the 1990's, including ProFlowers. He was first elected to the CO State Board of Education in 2000.

Mark Warner became wealthy by investing in telecommunications-related venture capital during the 1980s. He was elected Governor of VA in 2001.

[yurbud]

15. what has he done for working and middle class folks?

[Jose Garcia]

5. Rep. Jared Polis has a net worth of over $400 million

[Jose Garcia]

6. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has a net worth of over $60 million

[mopinko]

7. i didnt say he was disqualified, i said

that will be a hard sell. people who will want to dump rauner wont be inclined to replace w another rich dude.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Rauner Is Disposable, Mo

Even when he won, a lot of the voters held their nose and checked that box. Even the republicans didn't really want him.

He's already toast.

[mopinko]

11. i hope so. he doesnt do his damn job.

which, thankfully, is saving the state from complete destruction.

[Scarsdale]

12. One term

he vowed. One term then out. Soon changed his mind, I wonder why??

[mopinko]

13. because power never yields w/o a fight.

[Stuart G]

14. According to sources Frankln Roosevelt was worth about 50 million..

almost all inherited...plus his wife had money too....here is what you got to know..........

1932...40 million X 15....equals ...600 million.......why 15?...things were somewhat cheaper in 1932. than today....yes.........................example???

In the movie It Is A Wonderful Life...$8000..was stolen ..that ain't so much??.but...............

the movie was made in 1946. you could buy a house for $5,000... a new car in 47..say 500-700...So what does that $8000..really mean today........well....I would say that that pile of money stolen, would be worth at least ..$100,000 in today's money...but to get the exact multiplying factor..well you have to do more research...I am guessing 1932..maybe 15 times today..and these are ,....moderate ...guesses. could be more..