* The Sun-Times…

[Gov. JB Pritzker] is for the first time revealing publicly that he’s lost 80 pounds with the help of a GLP-1 weight-loss medication, with plans to lose more. The governor laid bare his previously undisclosed medical history in an hourlong interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, saying the “food noise” is gone with daily exercise and the injections fueling weight loss he didn’t think was possible.

“I honestly didn’t think about the fact that just two years ago at the Democratic convention, that I was 80 pounds heavier. I didn’t notice that except that now I’ve seen pictures or video of myself and now that I’ve had some success, I look in the mirror and I think about the videos and I think, ‘Wow, that’s quite a difference,’ ” Pritzker said. “And I guess other people see it, which is nice.” […]

He said he’s been on “every diet you could imagine” with no long-term success. But it wasn’t until a doctor diagnosed him with prediabetes, and later Type 2 diabetes, at age 58, that he began taking insulin — and ultimately a GLP-1 medication to help regulate his blood sugar. […]

It was that diabetes diagnosis and insulin prescription that gave him a lifesaving wake-up call — and got him thinking about his own longevity.

Pritzker said the medication — combined with exercise and diet — has been so effective that he stopped taking insulin nine months ago, and his blood sugar levels have gone back to normal.

* CBS…

“I’ve been overweight most of my life, really, since I was probably 7 or 8 years old,” Pritzker said.

That was around the time his father Donald died of a heart attack at 39.

“He was actually quite an active person, even though he was overweight, and so he was on a tennis court and had a heart attack, and my mother was there, and he died in her arms,” Pritzker said.

Given the family history, Pritzker said he’s always kept an eye on his own blood work, but he acknowledges that the high-pressure job of being the governor of the country’s sixth-largest state led him to put on even more weight, which forced him to put up with unwanted attention.

* The Tribune…

Pritzker has faced myriad questions about his weight loss for more than a year, and until Monday he’d declined to answer directly when asked if he was taking a GLP-1 or any other type of weight-loss drug, even as it became clear that he was losing weight.

In an NBC-5 interview last year, he said, “I’m not going to answer that question partly because I think there are a lot of people who are on those GLP1s, and it’s kind of none of anybody’s business. Sometimes people are doing it because they have a health problem, like a genuine medical problem, diabetes or something else. And those are amazing drugs.”

Republican President Donald Trump has made fun of the governor’s weight a number of times in the past, including calling Pritzker a “big fat slob,” even as the president is overweight.

Pritzker himself has referenced his body shape on the campaign trail. When he first ran for governor, his campaign motto was “Think Big,” a phrase he’s repurposed repeatedly since being elected. He even made a veiled reference to weight-loss drugs at an event in Washington in March when he joked about his weight loss, saying, “I’m JB Pritzker, governor of the great state of Illinois and if you’re seeing me in person for the very first time, yes, I’m the gov who put ‘gov’ in Wegovy,” referencing the well-known GLP-1 drug.

* Pritzker’s GOP opponent Darren Bailey…

JB and I disagree on just about everything, and that won't change between now and November. But I'm genuinely glad to hear he's feeling better. Health is a blessing, and I wish him and his family well. https://t.co/fYQYkew9UT

— Darren Bailey (@DarrenBaileyIL) September 22, 2026

* NBC Chicago…

[Pritzker] said “it’s a new world with these GLP-1s” and “even the doctor said he’s seeing more and more and more people who are succeeding at doing what I did.” […]

The state of Illinois covers GLP-1 use for state employees, with physician approval.

“I really do believe it’s saving the state money because I think about the number of people who no longer are on insulin or never become a diabetic because of the GLP-1 or they lose weight and they’re less likely to get some of serious disease,” Pritzker said.

* More…

* NYT | Sizing Up a 2028 Bid, He Used a Weight-Loss Drug to Drop 80 Pounds: In the CBS interview, he said his doctors warned him two years ago that had reached diabetic status and would need to begin taking insulin injections. That, Mr. Pritzker said, prompted a new fitness regimen that includes regular predawn four-mile walks in Chicago and taking a GLP-1. He has since lost enough weight to stop taking insulin, an aide said. The CBS interview comes about a year after Mr. Pritzker discussed his weight with the NBC affiliate in Chicago. In that interview, conducted during a walk along the Lake Michigan shore, Mr. Pritzker dodged questions about whether he was taking a GLP-1 while promoting walking outdoors as “great for your mental health.”

* WSJ | Ahead of Possible Presidential Bid, JB Pritzker Says He Is Taking Weight-Loss Drugs: Trump has repeatedly called attention to Pritzker’s weight, including suggesting that he should “spend more time in the gym” and calling him a “slob” who “wants to eat all the time.” Pritzker has also suggested Trump would benefit from losing some pounds. “It takes one to know one on the weight question,” Pritzker told reporters in August 2025.

* WGN | Pritzker says he’s using a GLP-1 in weight loss journey: Pritzker started the medication after his doctor warned he would likely need insulin for the rest of his life. The concerns about diabetes had not been previously disclosed by Pritzker or his team. In a candid interview airing Monday on CBS’s network morning program, Pritzker opened up about his health. Pritzker says he’s no longer on insulin and his blood sugar is no longer at diabetic levels, which he attributes to the GLP-1 paired with a change in diet and exercise.