Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Won’t Say if He Will Stay in the State for Thanksgiving Despite Democrats Discouraging Nonessential Travel

Governor JB Pritzker / Periscope
Hannah Knudsen

Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker would not say if he would remain in the state for the Thanksgiving holiday as fellow Illinois Democrat Lori Lightfoot, mayor of Chicago, urges residents to avoid nonessential travel and “cancel traditional Thanksgiving plans.”

“That is my hope, but I will let you know,” Pritzker said after a reporter asked if he would remain in Illinois for the holiday during a press conference on Monday:

Last week, Pritzker warned that another stay-at-home order could be forthcoming “if things don’t take a turn in the coming days.”

“The numbers don’t lie,” Pritzker said. “If things don’t take a turn in the coming days, we will quickly reach the point when some form of a mandatory stay-at-home order is all that will be left. With every fiber of my being, I do not want us to get there, but right now that seems to be where we are heading.”

Meanwhile, Lightfoot has already enacted a stay-at-home advisory for Chicago residents, urging them to cancel their traditional Thanksgiving plans altogether. She is also instructing residents to “avoid all non-essential, out-of-state travel” — something Pritzker was unable to commit to on Monday.

Additionally, the city is restricting social gatherings to ten people.

“Furthermore, CDPH Health Orders require that indoor gatherings within private residences be limited to six non-household members,” per the November 12 press release. It adds that the city “has the authority to fine individuals for breaking this requirement and hosting large social gatherings in their private residences.”

“Lastly, earlier this week, CDPH updated the City’s emergency travel order, however, the recommendation remains for residents to avoid all non-essential, out-of-state travel,” the release added.

This would not be the first time Pritzker, who praised Lightfoot’s stay-at-home advisory, has not followed local guidance himself. In May, the billionaire governor admitted that his wife fled the state’s stay-at-home order, traveling to their $12.1 million equestrian estate in South Florida at the height of the pandemic. He also indicated that his wife and their daughter visited their farm in Wisconsin:

More recently, Pritzker took to the streets of Chicago to celebrate after several media outlets declared Joe Biden the winner of the presidential election:

On Monday, Biden suggested that Americans modify their Thanksgiving plans by limiting their gatherings to ten people “maximum.”

“They [health experts] strongly urge that, if, in fact, we’re going to have Thanksgiving with anyone, that we limit it to maximum, maximum, they suggest five people, maximum ten people, socially distanced, wearing masks, and people who have quarantined,” Biden told reporters:

Kamala Harris / YouTube

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