US Politics
JB Pritzker refuses to rule out gerrymandering in Illinois because GOP has ‘thrown the rule book out’
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has not ruled out gerrymandering in his state, saying “everything’s on the table” in response to President Donald Trump’s push for aggressive partisan redistricting in Texas.
Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, who is traveling the country urging the Democrats to take a tougher stance against the Trump administration, made his comments Tuesday on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Colbert noted that California is weighing a redistricting plan that could “wipe out” almost half a dozen Republican seats, activated by a “dead man switch” if Texas proceeds with its partisan map.
“Can Illinois do something like that,” the late-night host asked.
“It’s possible,” Pritzker said, without hesitation. “And, as I’ve said, everything’s on the table.”
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“Look, we’ve got to fight fire with fire,” he reiterated to Colbert. “They’ve frankly tossed the rulebook out. And they’re just acting in an unconstitutional fashion.”
Illinois would do “whatever it takes to preserve democracy,” Pritzker said, to raucous applause from the studio audience.
In Illinois, the GOP’s ability to gain additional seats is limited because the current map is already drawn in its favor.
Republicans hold just three of the 17 congressional seats in Illinois, a state where Trump received almost 44 percent of the vote in last year’s presidential election.
Gerrymandering, however, is being floated as a countermeasure to Texas lawmakers’ plan to redraw the congressional map aimed at flipping five Democrat-held districts to Republican control.
The legislature’s ongoing special session, called by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, ground to a halt on Sunday after Democrats fled from their state to Chicago and New York that evening to block the redistricting vote.
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On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters that he too is ready to fight “fire with fire” after he proposed redrawing his states’ congressional map before the 2026 midterm elections.
Pritzker has also welcomed Democrats into Illinois, which he announced at an event in DuPage County on Sunday in front of a “JB” backdrop advertising his gubernatorial reelection campaign.
The governor told Colbert that Illinois is a “safe haven” for Texas Democrats who plan to stay away for two weeks to run out the clock on the legislative session.
“Donald Trump is trying to steal five seats from the people, frankly, from the country, not just the people of Texas and disenfranchise people,” he said.
“Where did they decide to come to? The safe haven of the state of Illinois. And we’re going to protect them and take care of them.”