* We focused almost exclusively on the budget portion of Gov. JB Pritzker’s address yesterday, but it was also a State of the State address. What follows are some excerpts from that…

In the age old fight between happy warriors and misery’s carnival barkers, we’ve shown that if we resolve to do it, happy warriors win every time. And we are winning.

Which is why, here in Illinois in 2023, I’m confident in saying the state of our State is stronger than it has been in decades, and we’re getting stronger every day.

* Women…

Some of the most marginalized people in our society are women, especially women of color, who earn the least and take on some of the greatest societal burdens. When conservatives on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, they didn’t strip the right to an abortion from wealthy women, they took it from the most vulnerable women.

I won’t accept that for the women of Illinois, and neither do the majority of the people of Illinois. That’s why, last month, we expanded our pool of abortion providers and eliminated barriers to access: allowing birth centers to provide all reproductive care, eliminating copays for birth control and abortive medications.

Since Roe was overturned, all the states around us have taken away reproductive freedom from their residents, so Illinois healthcare providers are seeing triple the demand, with desperate patients showing up at the crack of dawn every day.

That’s why we are establishing a Reproductive Health Public Navigation Hotline, so patients can call ahead for a risk assessment and find the services that will meet their needs. From transportation and lodging to insurance coverage options, the hotline will help patients traverse a complex and overwhelmed system. To address the shortage of reproductive healthcare workers, we are providing $5 million toward learning collaboratives for worker training.

Let’s not pull punches — this is the result of a national conservative crusade to legislate against the most intimate matters of a woman’s basic healthcare. I’m sure there are some elected officials who would like us to stop talking about abortion.

Well, too bad.

There are women in this country right now who are facing untold mental and physical anguish because of the fall of Roe v. Wade. Here in Illinois, women know their rights are protected, but that doesn’t take away our obligation as Americans to speak up for the rest of the nation.

* Keep in mind when reading this that Pritzker took the lead in building a Holocaust museum in Skokie…

Delivering what matters to Illinois residents and their families is what defines good governance. We’ve all been asked to represent our constituents with tenacity and honor. And to speak up when our common American values are challenged.

Our history is a series of stops and starts, of ups and downs, of our ancestors getting it tragically wrong and courageously right. The only thing we can hope for in this work is that the values we attach our names to will make our grandchildren proud.

After all, this is the Land of Lincoln. We have a responsibility to that legacy.

As Elie Wiesel said, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.  Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

With that in mind, I want to take sides on something I feel obligated to speak out about, especially given the history of anti-Semitism and discrimination suffered by my ancestors and that persists for so many others today.

There is a virulent strain of nationalism plaguing our nation, led by demagogues who are pushing censorship, with a particular attack right now on school board members and library trustees. It’s an ideological battle by the right wing, hiding behind a claim that they would protect our children — but whose real intention is to marginalize people and ideas they don’t like. This has been done in the past, and it doesn’t stop with just snuffing out ideas.

This afternoon I’ve laid out a budget agenda that does everything possible to invest in the education of our children. Yet it’s all meaningless if we become a nation that bans books from school libraries about racism suffered by Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron, and tells kids they can’t talk about being gay, and signals to Black and Brown people and Asian Americans and Jews and Muslims that our authentic stories can’t be told.

I’m the father of two children. I care a great deal about their education. Like every good parent, I want to be involved in what they learn. I’m also a proud American. Our nation has a great history, and much to be proud of.  I want my children to learn that history. But I don’t want them to be lied to. I want them to learn our true history, warts and all. Illinois’ young people shouldn’t be kept from learning about the realities of our world. I want them to become critical thinkers, exposed to ideas that they disagree with, proud of what our nation has overcome, and thoughtful about what comes next.

Here in Illinois, we don’t hide from the truth, we embrace it. That’s what makes us strong.

* Conclusion…

I want to conclude today with sharing a story of someone who exemplifies the tenacity of our people here in the Prairie State.

In 1951, at the age of 18, Joyce DeFauw arrived on Northern Illinois University’s campus to pursue a degree in economics. But life had other plans. She met her husband, Don Freeman Sr. and left NIU to raise a family.

Seven decades later — nine children, and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren later — Joyce decided she could focus on herself again, and she re-enrolled in college to finish her degree. Once again, life had other plans…a once-in-a-generation pandemic. But that didn’t deter her. She finished her classes on a laptop given to her as a gift — and just two months ago, at age 90, Joyce walked across the stage to receive her Bachelor of General Studies, becoming the oldest person in history to graduate from NIU.

Joyce’s story is a classic Illinois tale. We are a stubborn people — we persevere no matter the challenge.  We welcome opportunity for improvement. And when we rise, we rise together.

I see it in Mboka Mwilambwe who received a tuition waiver from this welcoming state and has returned it tenfold as Bloomington’s Mayor, and in Jaichan Tyrique Smith, who is on his way to becoming a child clinical psychologist. I see it in Itanzia Dawson, a mom determined to provide a better life for her family and who now educates the children of Little Village. I see it in Anne Tyree, who supports mental health patients and their families who are going through the same thing she has. I see it in neighbors who helped each other through the pandemic, in small businesses contributing to their communities’ success, in the determination of our young people to make positive change for our state and nation.

We are a people with enough empathy to be kind to one another, enough grit to persevere, and just enough confidence to believe we can make a difference in this world. That’s the Illinois that I know. That’s the Illinois we all represent.

Thank you. God bless the great state of Illinois and the United States of America.

Discuss.