* NBC News…

Fresh off a victory for a third gubernatorial term and looking toward a potential run for president in 2028, [Gov. JB 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. […]

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.

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.”

* Trump will, of course, still be president when the new Congress takes office. Pritzker was asked today how much of his plan could actually become law…

Reporter: Donald Trump is still going to be president for two more years. How realistic is it for anything in this legislative package to be signed into law? And if not, it would be fair to characterize this playbook as a version of Project 2029 for a the next Democratic president to tackle?

Pritzker: This is a focus on what needs to get done now over the next six months. We need to make sure that the Congress and the American people hear what it is the American working families need. I believe that it’s possible that this president, having received the mandate against his policies, might be willing to talk to Democrats about the agenda that they’re putting forward and be willing to make compromise or actually approve. I think there are things that he may agree with in this agenda. So this isn’t about beating up Donald Trump. It is about doing what’s right for working families. That’s sending the congress with their own agenda. For the state of Illinois and that I think would benefit all the states of the United States.

* US Sen. Tammy Duckworth…

Reporter: I’m just wondering if you have anything to add about the balance between holding Trump accountable the Senate majority versus passing a specific—

Duckworth: Well absolutely I think what our governor has done here in this state with continuing to gather evidence to hold accountable the most egregious actions of the Trump administration, of ICE on our city streets, that will continue. But at the same time, there are things we can do even in the rest of the lame duck session that is in front of us. Even before we actually take control in January, we can actually work to repeal those most egregious cuts to Medicaid that is in the ‘Big Ugly Bill.’ Right? We can end the war in Iran. […] We have to act. We’re going to act now. And maybe, we can get some Republicans to work with us. But if they are not going to do it, then when we take charge in January, we are going to make that happen. […] We have actually passed legislation that Donald Trump was too afraid to sign or veto. The housing bill that we recently passed. I’m on the Democrats’ housing task force to make housing more affordable for all Americans because you should not have to wait until you have to 40 years old, be able to afford your first home. There are a lot of things that you can do, and so we did pass in a bipartisan way and an overwhelming way legislation to help Americans be able to afford housing. He was too afraid to sign it. He was also too afraid to veto it. It became law anyway. That’s the kind of thing that we can do in the next months that are available in the lame duck session, we’re going to call Donald Trump on it. And even in the next two years, while we have control of their Congress, he’s still in the White House. We can put things in front of him and dare him to veto them.

Duckworth’s answer has been edited for length. Please pardon any transcription errors. Click here for the full press conference.

* Some highlights from the governor’s office…

Fighting for Illinois: The Day One Agenda Highlights:

HEALTHCARE AND HUMAN SERVICES

- Repeal the Medicaid and SNAP cuts enacted in H.R. 1, including harmful cost-sharing, and new administrative requirements designed to strip people of benefits ​ ​ ​- Restore the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits to lower health insurance costs for working families
- Halt indiscriminate mass immigration round-ups and deportations, limit warrantless arrests, and pursue accountability ​ ​ ​
- Strengthen oversight for federal immigration enforcement — including cooperation with state investigations
- Restore reproductive health protections removed by Dobbs and protect interstate travel for care ​ ​
- Restore critical personnel and functions at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and halt the reorganization of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act ​
- Reverse cost shift to states for durable medical equipment for Veterans ​ ​
- Reaffirm Olmstead, the ADA, the HCBS Settings Rule to strengthen home- and community-based services for people with disabilities and older adults

EDUCATION

- Restore the U.S. Department of Education to full capacity ​
- Restore the tax exemption for student loan forgiveness
- Fix H.R. 1’s Repayment Assistance Plan to reinstate affordable repayment options ​
- Pass the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act to protect and expand college access for low-income students ​ ​ ​
- Restore Grad PLUS and the historic definition of “professional degree” to enable students to take out the funding they need to secure their degree
- Codify the Head Start Program Performance Standards into law to prevent harmful proposed changes by the Administration that reduced access to services for families ​
- Protect funding for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) which funds Illinois’ Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) program. ​
- Restore federal special education oversight, communication, and support ​ ​
- Reinstate the National Blue Ribbon School program at the U. S. Department of Education
- Pass the College Transparency Act, which would give Illinois students and families better information for college decisions

GROWING THE ECONOMY

- Pass legislation to return unlawful tariff payments and deliver relief to consumers ​ ​
- Support Illinois’ Beef industry by expanding USDA assistance to support reopening the Joslin plant under an independent operator ​ ​
- Resume and fully fund the Brandon Road Interbasin Project ​ ​
- Allow year-round, nationwide E15, which helps lower fuel costs and supports Illinois farmers ​
- Prohibit nationwide prediction markets on sports, elections, and events, and affirm state authority
- Pass a comprehensive Farm Bill with conservation funding ​
- Fully fund Unemployment Insurance administration grant ​
- Fund Small Business Development Centers and release awards on time to support Illinois small business owners
- Oppose preemption of state digital asset regulation in federal market-structure legislation
- Let the federal ban on intoxicating hemp take effect
- Pass the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act ​
- Stop high-interest lenders from buying banks to evade state rate caps ​ ​

PUBLIC SAFETY, ENERGY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE

- Base disaster declarations and assistance on measurable need — never on how a state voted ​ ​
- Reverse shifting unfunded emergency management responsibilities to the states
- Keep Buy America requirements for EV chargers at 55% to reduce barriers to EV expansion and restore federal tax credits for EV adoption ​
- Approve project labor agreements on federally funded projects ​ ​
- Reinstate $20 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for Illinois carbon management projects ​
- Pass legislation that stops the cancellation of transportation grants over “agency priorities”
- Reauthorize and fund the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program
- Amend the Clean Air Act to expressly authorize EPA to regulate greenhouse gases ​ ​
- Create a Lead Service Line Replacement program within the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

* And, of course, Pritzker was asked when he’ll decide whether to run for president…

Reporter: It’s no secret you have this option on the table to run for higher office, should you choose to do so. When can the people of Illinois expect to hear a decision from you?

Pritzker: Well, I appreciate your faith in the idea that I might be a candidate for president, and I appreciate all of the, well, the faith that people have expressed to me. But I can tell you this: Everything, and I really mean everything, including the agenda that we put forward today, and everything that we’ve done over the last eight years has really been about the people of Illinois. What is good for the people of Illinois? Those are the questions that I ask every day when I wake up in the morning. What am I going to do to make people’s lives better? And I go to bed at night thinking about what didn’t I get done that day that I need to do the next day. Those are the things that’ll guide all the decisions I’ll make going forward. Thank you very much.

Reporter: What is it going to take for you to make that decision? (Press conference ends)

Thoughts?