Governor Pritzker spoke at a New Hampshire Democrat Party fundraising event April 27, calling for “mass protests, mobilization, and disruption” against Republicans to protest the current administration.

“These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace,” he said in the speech. “They must understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox and then punish them at the ballot box.”(The Guardian)

He has labeled Republicans as “far-right extremists,” “carnival barkers,” and “too cowardly” to act in the nation’s interest. (Chicago Tribune)

These statements are hardly consistent with Pritzker’s claim that “he is a peaceful leader,” arguing that true leaders should offer “words of solace and calm” in the face of political violence.

According to the Independent Voter Project, as of August 2025, Illinois voter registration data shows that 37.7% of registered voters in Illinois are Democrats (3,044,805 individuals), 27.53% are Republicans (2,223,314 individuals), and the remaining are unaffiliated with either party. The governor should show empathy for all individuals in Illinois and not beat up on 27.5% of those registered as Republicans.

In January 2023, Pritzker signed House Bill 4412, also known as Public Act 102-1123, into law. The law preempts county authority to enact local ordinances that prohibit wind and solar projects. (See Rochelle News-Leader, Sept. 14, 2025).

In Illinois, most urban areas lean Democrat, and most rural areas are Republican. Large solar projects require several hundred acres in counties consisting of farmland, mostly in Republican counties.

It is impractical to locate a large solar farm in a predominantly Democratic county, such as Cook County. However, in many rural areas, there is opposition to large solar projects encompassing several hundred acres of arable farmland. So, probably expecting opposition to the “green new deal” (renewable energy), Pritzker signed a bill that knocks out the opposition.

Pritzker is constantly fighting with President Trump. He has stated that the administration is drifting “toward authoritarianism” and compared ICE agent tactics to those of Germany in the 1930s. (Newsbreak)

For the non-historians out there, this implies Nazi policies. Pritzker is embroiled in a controversy over whether he referred to Trump as Adolf Hitler, which he denies. However, Pritzker has, through his rhetoric, implied that Trump is Hitler.

Public perception differs when a governor uses the eponym “Hitler” versus when they warn about authoritarian patterns rooted in historical analogies. Pritzker, in an interview with reporters at FOX 32 Chicago, stated, “The President of the United States is causing mayhem in the grounds of our state. He is going after his political opponents. I don’t know why anybody would look at the situation and not recognize he’s moving toward an authoritarian regime in his own image.”

This rhetoric has fomented violence in Chicago, as evidenced by a recent gunshot taken at ICE agents. The Illinois Freedom Caucus condemned Pritzker’s remarks as “vile” and incompatible with democratic norms. If a municipality is counting on federal grants, this rhetoric may not be helpful in that regard.

The Pritzker family has ranked near the top of Forbes’ “America’s Richest Families” list since its first publication in 1982. The family is the heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune. Political pundits say that Pritzker is positioning himself to run as the Democrat nominee for president of the United States. Apparently, he must pander to the radical left of the Democratic party, which often advocates violence to attain its goals.

It does not take a political genius to conclude that Pritzker has not endeared himself to Illinois Republicans. In my opinion, Pritzker should stop fighting with Trump, stop the vitriol, become bipartisan, and apologize to Republicans for his hate speech, but don’t bet on it.

Chuck Roberts is a freelance writer in Rochelle.