00:00People have asked me over the last few years, what's given me the courage to stand up to this president,
00:06to this presidency?
00:08They've asked me if I worry about the insults that are flung my way by the Oval Office.
00:16Well, the answer is, I don't worry about it at all. I'm happy to be something they jeer, because I've
00:22seen what they choose to cheer.
00:28Give it up one more time for your next Lieutenant Governor, Christian Mitchell.
00:37One of the true delights of running for governor is getting to choose a partner.
00:58One of the true delights of running for governor is getting to choose a partner and a leader to run
01:04with as Lieutenant Governor.
01:06And if I do say so myself, I've hit it out of the park twice now.
01:15And starting tonight, one of them will soon be known as United States Senator, Julianna Stratton.
01:28Now, there's a woman that I have known for 38 years who has been an unsung champion for the vulnerable
01:35and the afflicted.
01:37When there's injustice, when people's rights are under attack, she doesn't seek attention.
01:44She stands in the breach as an unwavering defender.
01:48She is my best friend.
01:51She is the love of my life.
01:54And your first lady, M.K. Pritzker.
02:04To our daughter, Teddy, and our son, Donnie, you have grown into good, kind, smart, hardworking adults.
02:13You make mom and me so very proud, and we love you more than life itself.
02:20To every volunteer, every precinct captain and phone banker and canvasser, you've vanquished the MAGA-Illinois GOP.
02:34And you rebuilt the Democratic Party of Illinois, led by the amazing Chris Shallow.
02:45I have the absolute best campaign team in this country.
02:50You all made this victory possible.
02:56And to my opponent, Darren Bailey, who ran hard and gave it his all, despite our differences.
03:12I know that we both love Illinois.
03:15M.K. and I want to wish you and Cindy the blessings of peace in the days ahead.
03:21Let's commit, let's commit to work for a time when all our political disputes will be resolved by the better
03:30angels of our nature.
03:36Illinois, my heart is full tonight with the kind of emotion that we Midwestern dads too often keep to ourselves.
03:45But as I look out at this amazing crowd, I'm reminded how much I love this great state and its
03:54people.
03:56Your kindness and decency, your work ethic and authenticity.
04:02I love you too.
04:08Your resilience.
04:09I am so proud to be governor of Illinois.
04:17I love this patch of prairie land, this union state that built railroads.
04:27A state that spawned skyscrapers that split the atom.
04:32I love that Decatur is the soybean capital of the world.
04:40I love that Morton is the pumpkin capital of the world.
04:46That Collinsville is the horseradish capital of the world.
04:52I love that we put mustard on our hot dogs and we tolerate those who put ketchup on them.
05:03Barely, but still.
05:06I love that this is the house where house music started.
05:18I love that the Pope began a journey of faith here.
05:27And he did it by rooting for the White Sox.
05:35I love that Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers, began their journey in Joliet.
05:43I love that a great fire turned Chicago into a hub of entrepreneurs.
05:49And that a great lake made us the home of innovation.
05:55I love that it was the first Illinois president who taught us how to stick together.
06:05And that it was another Illinois president who showed us how to hope for better.
06:17I love that over the last eight years, while so much of this country we pledge allegiance to has lost
06:23its bearings,
06:24Illinoisans have remained steadfast and true.
06:29I love that the people here never once fell into the trap of succumbing to the wiles of a petty
06:36tyrant.
06:38But instead, we recommitted ourselves to the noble precept that democracy and freedom go hand in hand.
06:49An idea that must be renewed, a bedrock that must be reinforced by each generation.
06:56I love that we fought when our neighbors needed us to fight.
07:03And that we showed up when we needed to show out.
07:09I love being your governor.
07:24I love you too.
07:38Public service, public service is a career path too often belittled.
07:44But to do so is to betray the values and hard work of so many people dedicated to making our
07:52lives and our communities better.
07:54From the first responders who run toward danger, to the emergency management teams who keep us out of it.
08:01From those at the Department of Health who watch for disease, to the home healthcare aides who treat it.
08:09From the child welfare case workers who rescue children from neglect, to the school social workers who prevent it.
08:22Road crews and teachers and conservation experts.
08:35Every day each of these people demolish the stereotypes ascribed to them.
08:41Every day their public service makes Illinois such a wonderful place to live.
08:47To my staff in the governor's office who have never once flinched when forced to confront any crisis they've been
09:00asked to endure.
09:01You make me so proud.
09:03And it's a privilege to work with all of you.
09:10Now, the night is still young and we will see what surprises the next few hours hold.
09:16But as I stand here, I tell you this.
09:19The early results across the country are resuscitating a strange feeling inside of me.
09:28It's a feeling of hope.
09:32Because it looks like maybe, just maybe, something is stirring in the conscience of America.
09:42My time as governor has been grounded in a somewhat radical idea.
09:48Nothing good can be built on the governing notion that the place you want to change is somehow fundamentally irreparable.
09:56Hope and fear are from the same family.
10:02Both demand that you believe in a future you cannot see.
10:07Which one you adopt is a measure of character.
10:11In the world right now, politicians fall into one of two camps.
10:15Those that ask you to hope and those that want you to fear.
10:20For eight years, I've asked you to join me in hope.
10:25And I'd like to take a measure tonight of what hope and hard work has gotten us.
10:31We've nearly doubled the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
10:37We delivered universal paid leave for every Illinois worker.
10:44We have no cell phones in our classrooms.
10:50And more teachers in our schools.
10:56We require that black history is taught in every school because black history is American history.
11:08And now, Illinois has the highest high school graduation rate ever.
11:17We delivered eight balanced budgets that led to 12 state credit upgrades.
11:23We built a quantum industry that is shaping up to be the envy of the world.
11:28We upgraded our infrastructure entirely with union workers.
11:38We made Illinois a fortress for women's reproductive freedom.
11:48We enacted the toughest AI regulations in the country.
11:56We banned assault weapons.
12:02We stood up against ICE invasions.
12:12And if all of that wasn't good enough for you, well, hope was also given, well, has given us a
12:20winning White Sox season.
12:25And a Bears playoff win over the Packers.
12:31And a Chicago Pope.
12:36Now, I can't really take credit for those last three, but I think God has hope in us, too.
12:44Our long list of accomplishments is not to say that the work is done.
12:48I have confidence in our ability to tackle the challenges ahead.
12:53But fear has its place in building what is to come.
12:57It's just important that we fear the right things.
13:02Fear greed.
13:05Fear cruelty.
13:07Fear corruption.
13:10Fear intolerance and callousness and unchecked power.
13:15Fear politics devoid of empathy.
13:19Fear any leader who does not appreciate a life filled with simple joys.
13:26Who never closed their eyes upon hearing a favorite piece of music.
13:32Who never welled up with unselfish pride at a friend's accomplishments.
13:38Who never told a self-deprecating joke just to comfort another.
13:44Who never learned how to apologize simply and sincerely.
13:49Fear any person who doesn't know how to offer compassion when someone they dislike dies.
13:56Or kindness when someone who can't offer them anything needs it.
14:02Those are the things that we should fear.
14:06Those are the people we should fear.
14:12We should not fear immigrants.
14:16And people of color.
14:20And women.
14:23We should not fear the LGBTQ community.
14:30We should not fear the beardos and the weirdos.
14:35And we should not fear the Canadians.
14:40We should not fear the strange, wonderful mix of diverse opinions and backgrounds and ethnicities
14:47that make our communities rich, our food good, our culture strong,
14:52our work ethic durable, and our country so uniquely American.
15:01I have one important rule in life.
15:04I don't feast with people beside whom I wouldn't trust to starve.
15:10And it's always the people who are struggling,
15:13who are persecuted, who are unfairly stereotyped,
15:16who would give you the last piece of bread if you needed it.
15:21That's the squad with whom I want to roll into the next chapter.
15:30Hope for the best in us.
15:32Fear the worst.
15:33And remember that courage doesn't exist without fear.
15:38It exists to confront fear.
15:41People have asked me over the last few years,
15:44what's given me the courage to stand up to this president, to this presidency?
15:50They've asked me if I worry about the insults that are flung my way by the Oval Office.
15:57Well, the answer is, I don't worry about it at all.
16:01I'm happy to be something they jeer, because I've seen what they choose to cheer.
16:10There's one question I've gotten a lot over the last few months.
16:14What's next?
16:16The answer is simple.
16:18I'm going to ask you to continue to hope, to wrap yourself in hope, in courage.
16:26We climbed one mountain tonight, but we are sitting at the base of another.
16:34We have a health care system that we need to break down to the studs and rebuild.
16:42One where we put doctors and patients ahead of insurance companies and profits.
16:50We have an electoral system that needs real campaign finance reform,
16:56because no special interest should be able to simply buy the regulations they prefer.
17:04We have a growing group of tech robber barons
17:09who need to be told that money does not give them the right to exist outside the rules we all
17:16live by.
17:21And we need to rescue the American dream for the next generation.
17:29It is simply unacceptable that both the essentials and the joys of living life
17:34have moved out of reach for almost every working class American.
17:39This life, this one precious, beautiful life,
17:43needs to be about more than grinding it out every day
17:47until the day you die.
17:49It's this simple.
17:51If you go to work in the morning and you come home at night,
17:53you ought to make enough money to put food on the table.
17:58To see a doctor when you're sick.
18:00To live in a dignified home.
18:04To save for retirement.
18:07And take a vacation every once in a while.
18:11We can make that happen.
18:15We must make that happen.
18:18Now, I know that the last few years have been hard.
18:23I know that it would have been easy for you to lose hope along the way.
18:29But at every turn, you've shown the resolve and the courage that hope requires.
18:35It's in you as it is in me.
18:40Hope lives within us.
18:44Tonight is a good night.
18:48But the work does not end tonight.
18:51Tomorrow we wake up with hope rewarded and purpose renewed.
18:57So I have just one question for you, Illinois.
19:00Are you ready for the fight?
19:03No, I mean it.
19:05Are you ready for the fight?
19:09Then go out there with hope and courage and fight like hell for what's next.
19:16God bless you.
19:17And God bless the United States.
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