JB Pritzker

J.B. Pritzker signed the nation's first state AI safety law on July 6, requiring annual third-party audits of frontier AI developers with $500 million-plus revenue, 72-hour incident reporting, and attorney general enforcement carrying $1 million to $3 million civil penalties. He framed the measure as states filling the void left by federal inaction.

That posture defines his current standing across multiple fronts. He rejected Trump's renewed call for military intervention in Chicago, saying Trump lacks the knowledge to protect Illinois. He led nine Democratic governors in a July 2 letter demanding USPS withdraw a proposed mail-in ballot delivery rule, arguing it would arbitrarily disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. He is fighting a potential $705 million annual SNAP penalty tied to a national improper-payment rate, arguing the federal standard reflects design flaws, not state waste.

His $55.9 billion FY2027 budget took effect July 1 — his eighth consecutive balanced plan, funded by roughly $800 million in new taxes on digital assets, fantasy sports, digital advertising, and a social media fee. The package includes $400 payments for those losing SNAP, $1.2 billion for lead-pipe replacement, and a six-month motor fuel tax pause. A wave of laws kicked in the same day: expanded cyberbullying definitions, gender-affirming care protections, a new Department of Early Childhood, permanent cocktails-to-go, and raised mandatory driving-test age to 87. In late June he signed a consumer-protection package banning junk fees and regulating buy-now-pay-later lenders, plus a reproductive health records privacy act barring out-of-state sharing of abortion and gender-affirming-care records without patient consent.

On data centers, Pritzker paused new tax credits for two years by executive order after the General Assembly failed to pass the POWER Act, saying operators must pay for their own power and that locals should have more say on siting. He backs fall legislation to address grid impact, though trade unions warn the pause will drive construction jobs to neighboring states. He backed Speaker Welch's demand for Rep. Harry Benton's resignation over sexual-harassment findings, and has a first-in-nation ban on AI smart glasses while driving awaiting his signature.