"What was once an Illinois with $17B in overdue bills is now an Illinois that pays its bills on time. What was once an Illinois that went years without a budget is now an Illinois that has passed four balanced budgets in a row. What was once a state with no cushion to protect it in economic downturn is now an Illinois on track to have a $2.3B rainy day fund."
“I’m a Ukrainian-American Jewish Democratic billionaire businessman. That’s not exactly the archetype the Democratic party was looking for to run for Governor [of Illinois]”
“Look, I’ve been lucky in life and I know it. That’s why I’ve worked hard. After law school, I founded my own successful business. I also became a national leader and a national advocate for early childhood education. I co-founded a Holocaust museum, started the world's number one small business incubator, chaired the Illinois Human Rights Commission and helped elect Democrats for more than 30 years.”
“I said I’d raise the minimum wage to $15/hr. I said I’d pass a record breaking infrastructure bill, that I’d pass comprehensive nation leading laws to fight climate change, and enshrine reproductive rights into law. And you know what? We accomplished all those things. I protected our elections and expanded voting rights, reformed our criminal justice system, and balanced the budget. Oh, and I legalized cannabis with the most equity centric legislation in the country.”
“I’ll never let the fear of failure stop me from trying. You can’t get what you don’t try for.”
“Republicans know we can’t live in the old world but they have some Democrats convinced that our party shouldn’t embrace a new one. That’s dumb and dangerous.”
“The Republican game plan is to get each of us to feel alone in a struggle that all of us are in together.”
"[Republicans] want to cast obvious solutions to everyday problems as something 'exotic' or 'woke.'"
“The right wing has made the word ‘abortion’ verboten to say because when you make a word shameful you make the people associated with that word shameful.”
“Do you know where nearly 60% of guns that are recovered in Chicago come from? Out of state. It feels like pushing the tide back with a broom.”
“They want to distract you into believing that gay marriage, black history, Disneyworld, and library books are more of a threat to our children than an AR-15. And if we can’t call bullshit on that, well then, Democrats, we don’t deserve to win elections.”
“Do not tell us that a ten year old is too young to learn about slavery but not too young to practice shooter drills and learn to play dead. Do not lecture us about crime until you will do something about guns. Do not tell us you are pro-life because no part of the Republican agenda is pro-life.”
“We stand with the people who barred the doors at the Capitol on January 6th, not the ones who tried to knock them down.”
"Whether it’s assault weapons, or back alley abortions, or vaccines, or protecting transgender youth, or a frothing mob of TRAITORS marching toward the capitol looking to shoot members of Congress and hang the Vice President - GIVE ME ONE EXAMPLE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY SHOWING UP FOR LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY."
"Look, I know that we’re facing a struggle in the heart of our nation right now. We Democrats feel like we play by the rules - that we respect our Democracy, that we honor the results of our elections, that we compromise — and work across the aisle — on issues that voters care about. We want to believe that - surely - the GOP can come together with us and agree on common sense things that will make life easier and better for most Americans. But every time we extend a hand to the other side and it’s met with intransigence at best and scorn at worst, we feel like Charlie Brown looking back at Lucy holding the football."