Peoria, IL — Yesterday, JB Pritzker and State Representative Juliana Stratton kicked off their six-day, 22-stop Think Big bus tour. They promoted their priorities for creating jobs downstate, opened a new field office in Peoria, and highlighted their statewide grassroots campaign.

The bus tour began in Chicago with a kick off press conference in the South Loop:

From Crain’s Chicago:

Hoping to shore up his status as the emerging Democratic gubernatorial front-runner, Chicago businessman J.B. Pritzker is off on a six-day, 22-stop statewide bus tour. […]

First details of the tour, which Pritzker and running mate Juliana Stratton say will give them an opportunity “to meet working families across the state and continue building on our robust, statewide grassroots movement.”

The trip begins this afternoon in Chicago, with the first stops in Ottawa and Peoria. Then it’s off to Bloomington, Springfield and Taylorville, among other locales.

The day continued with a short stop in Ottawa:

From The News Tribune: A frontrunner for governor visits La Salle County:

Gubernatorial hopeful J.B. Pritzker stopped by Washington Park on Wednesday on his way for a six-day tour of the state. The statues of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were the second stop of what will amount to 22.

The park began filling up with local people, union representatives and local Democrats at about 3:15 p.m. in anticipation of a 3:45 p.m. arrival. When the bus pulled up just after 4 p.m. a sizable crowd had formed. Pritzker and his running mate, state Rep. Juliana Stratton (D-Chicago), shook the hands of the people who had come out to see them. […]

Pritzker hammered Rauner on his handling of Illinois’ finances. Cande Castellanos, of Ottawa, said her son, a state employee, had lost his doctor because the state was so late in paying his medical bills.

“We’ve gotta pay our bills in this state,” Pritzker said. “The doctors can’t float the state.”

Castellano also asked Pritzker to not forget Latinos once he got to Springfield.

“I’ve been fighting my entire life for civil rights,” he said. “There’s no candidate that fought harder against Donald Trump than I did.”

From The Ottawa Times: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Pritzker visits Ottawa:

Ottawa was Day 1 of a six-day, 22-stop “Think Big” bus tour where Pritzker and his lieutenant governor candidate Juliana Stratton are promoting their priorities for creating jobs beyond Chicago, opening field offices in Peoria, Belleville and Chicago, and highlighting their grassroots field operation.

With his shirt sleeves rolled up, Pritzker smiled for photos and shook hands with those in attendance. Staying about a half hour in the park, Pritzker said his campaign was about bold ideas that will move the state forward.

“Juliana and I look forward to sharing our vision to create jobs and grow our economy with Illinoisans in every corner of the state.” he said.

Pritzker said he and Stratton are setting priorities for improvements in school funding as well as creating new jobs and fixing the health care system within the state.

PEORIA OFFICE OPENING:

They wrapped up the day at the JB for Governor Peoria office opening. JB and Juliana both spoke about their priorities for creating jobs downstate and their commitment to running a statewide, grassroots campaign. JB and Juliana were joined by State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth.

From WMBD:

From the Peoria Journal Star: 

It comes down to infrastructure for Democratic gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker.

That’s the centerpiece of his jobs plan for the Land of Lincoln, released Wednesday at the start of a six-day bus tour of the state, including a stop in Peoria. It also includes proposals for small business and manufacturing growth and improvements targeted at the agriculture industry.

“Quality infrastructure attracts new businesses to our state, keeps existing businesses here, and allows all of our businesses — from family farmers to manufacturers — to thrive,” Pritzker says in the plan.

The businessman and philanthropist offered up additional details about it during a stop Wednesday evening to open a campaign office — Pritzker’s third stop in the Peoria area since Saturday.

From WMBD:

“He’s got this right-wing agenda that he wants to bring to the state of Illinois,” said Pritzker. “It was a hidden agenda that he’s had under his Carhartt jacket, apparently, when he ran for governor. It’s the Koch brothers right-wing agenda that says he wants to destroy unions, that says he wants to lower wages in the state and, apparently, it means he wants to privatize education, too.”

Prtizker made the comments during a stop in Peoria Wednesday evening as his campaign marked the opening of a field office in the River City.

The visit was part of a 22-stop bus tour across the state, which the campaign calls “Think Big.”

 

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