Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his 2024 State of the State and budget address on Feb. 21, 2024 | BlueRoomStream
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his budget address to a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly Wednesday. Read the remarks prepared for delivery as shared by the governor’s office below.
“Speaker Welch, President Harmon, Lieutenant Governor Stratton, my fellow constitutional officers, members of the 103rd General Assembly, Chief Justice Theis and members of the Supreme Court, honored guests, the First Lady of Illinois, my soulmate, MK, and all the people of the great state of Illinois, I am so grateful to be here to deliver my sixth State of the State and Budget address.
I love my job. I love living in Illinois and spending every day working to improve the lives of our residents. In a world seemingly filled with chaos, it’s a privilege to be tasked with bringing stability and progress.
We live in a state that’s filled with people who exude decency and kindness. And if you take the time to listen, Illinoisans will tell you rich and rewarding stories about how we came to be who we are.
Here in Springfield, one of the most interesting guys I know is Ian Hunt, the head of acquisitions at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. And if you ask Ian, he will tell you one of my favorite stories.
Illinois owns an original version of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It’s known as the Everett Copy—one of only five to have been handwritten by Abraham Lincoln himself. It’s named after Edward Everett—a famed orator and a former Massachusetts Senator and Governor.
At Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, Everett was the other guy who spoke. He gave a two-hour speech—that almost no one remembers. When Everett was finished, Abraham Lincoln got up and delivered a two-minute speech that has never been forgotten.
A life lesson for every politician.
Much more here.
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