Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker rolls out a Day One road map for Congress

With Democrats set to take control of Congress with a resounding mandate for change, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is urging his party to act swiftly — with Trump-like speed — to advance an aggressive legislative and oversight agenda. To help them along, he is out with a road map for what Congress should tackle the moment they’re sworn in. Fresh off a victory for a third gubernatorial term and looking toward a potential run for president in 2028, Pritzker is set to release a detailed 75-page plan Wednesday, with ideas on everything from increasing the federal minimum wage to restoring SNAP and Medicaid cuts. The plan, which the governor has spent months crafting, was first shared with NBC News. “I believe that on Day One — and I literally mean Day One — that they should begin to introduce legislation. ... I’m looking for very quick action,” Pritzker said in an interview. “I believe that there are big things and small things that need to be done, and they need to be done swiftly.” Follow live updates on the midterm elections Pritzker’s release of a comprehensive policy initiative the day after the midterm elections sets in motion what will be intense jockeying among potential 2028 contenders to stand out in what is expected to be a crowded field. And it sets down a marker for Pritzker, digging into policy at a pivotal moment as the party is looking toward next steps. Pritzker, 61, spent millions on battleground races in the midterms. Recently, he gave $1 million to Democrat Gina Hinojosa in her bid to oust Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. It was a move that won Pritzker goodwill with Hispanic political leaders. With two months before the new Congress convenes, Pritzker has 200 items he believes Democrats should tackle immediately. He pointed to the urgency of Trump’s first days in office in 2025, when the president issued a slew of executive orders and imposed wide-reaching agency policies. Now that voters have spoken, Pritzker said, Democrats need to demonstrate they heard the call for change and are capable of taking actions that don’t drag into interminable battles. “Even if Trump vetoes a restoration of those programs, they should pass it,” he said. “It needs to be clear that this is the direction that the country wants to go, and if Donald Trump wants to stand in the way, that’s obviously on him. But we’ve got to pass these.” Though the road map Pritzker assembled is called “Fighting for Illinois: The Day One Agenda,” it has federal policy and funding recommendations that could pertain to all states. He told NBC News that some weighty issues like comprehensive immigration reform are not on the list because they are complex issues that would involve longer-term discussions. But Pritzker’s plan does call for ending “indiscriminate and outsized immigration round-ups and the mass deportation agenda, strengthen oversight, pursue accountability, and advance common sense immigration reform.” Pritzker also pushes for a boost to the federal minimum wage, which now stands at $7.25 an hour, as a contender for one of Democrats’ first acts. How high it should be raised is something that lawmakers should hash out, he said. In Illinois, the minimum wage is $15 an hour and Sen.-elect Juliana Stratton — who served as his lieutenant governor and received his heavy backing in the Senate race — has called for a $25-an-hour minimum wage. “It should be proposed right away, and there should be hearings and committee votes on that nearly right away. It’s been too long,” Pritzker said. “It’s something we can get done in relatively short order because I believe every Democrat agrees that the minimum wage is too low.” Also on Pritzker’s list is passing the Tariff Relief for Consumer Act, which would require large corporations that received refunds to show how they’re passing them on to consumers. The governor began preparing the agenda in the summer, when he directed state agencies and deputy governors to go through the Trump administration’s cuts to federal programs and grants under Trump that had the greatest impact on Illinois residents and to specify how the 120th Congress could reverse the damage. Among the other recommendations from Pritzker: giving states more authority on betting markets, restoring Temporary Protected Status for immigrants and year-round production on E15 gasoline (a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline). Pritzker said it would raise ethanol demand, helping Illinois’ agricultural sector while lowering prices at the pump. Asked how Democrats, if they take power, should balance holding administration officials accountable versus attempting to advance new initiatives, Pritzker said that the committees could take the lead on any investigations. “There are committees that can do the exposure of the corruption, the oversight of the executive branch. Those are specific committees in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, and I think they should do their work,” Pritzker said. “But there is work to be done for the working families of America to reverse the damage that Donald Trump has done to them. And I think this Congress has got to get to work on that right away.”