* CBS 2…

At Lincoln United Methodist Church on the South Side, J.B. Pritzker gladly received the endorsement of Congressman Luis Gutierrez.

Gutierrez is one of the most outspoken champions of immigrants’ rights and he vowed to keep up that fight, both locally and nationally.

“When I’m governor, I am going to take a page right out Luis Gutierrez’s playbook and be a thorn in Donald Trump’s side every move he makes,” said Pritzker.
img 3496 Illinois Governors Race Heats Up With Strong Endorsements

* NBC 5…

“It seems to me that we need to find defenders and protectors of our children and our families,” the Democratic congressman from Chicago said at an announcement event. “JB was very, very clear in the beginning that the policies of Donald Trump are discriminatory, are biased, are prejudiced and racist policies,” he continued. “He stood up with our community and he called it for what it is, and those are the kinds of men and women that we need in elected office.”

* ABC 7…

“Am I a fighter for immigrant rights? Yes. The fact that Luis Gutierrez has stood up to endorse me is an indicator to the people who care about these issues that I will be a champion for them,” Pritzker said.

With months to go before the primary, Pritzker has already lined up endorsements in key voting blocks. Several democrats believe he is the only candidate with the financial resources to compete and beat Governor Bruce Rauner.

“I think that is a very positive thing. I’m happy he doesn’t have to have one fundraiser after fundraiser after another with people,” Gutierrez said.

* Tribune…

“‘Make America Great Again,’ our president says. ‘Make America Great Again?’ An America in which women are in the kitchen, gay people are in the closet, black people are on the back of the bus and Latinos and immigrants were just silent and quiet? That’s the America he wants to take us back to,” said Gutierrez, a 24-year member of Congress.

“If we’re going to be triumphant, you want to win, you want to beat Rauner, who is nothing but a sidekick of Trump,” the congressman said. Later, Gutierrez, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters that the panel should begin impeachment proceedings against the president for obstruction of justice in the probe of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election.

Pritzker said he was “proud” to accept the endorsement of Gutierrez, whom he called “one of the fiercest fighters of the nation … to beat Donald Trump, to beat Bruce Rauner.”

Rauner and Trump “have the same agenda and the same governing style: attack, blame, deny and divide,” Pritzker said. “I’m running for governor to unite Illinois and to get things done for this state.”