(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) As he vies with his California counterpart, Gavin Newsom, to fill Democrats’ leadership vacuum ahead of the 2028 presidential election, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker tried pushing a bit of pedantry while attempting to target the Trump administration.
Our leaders in Washington could learn a thing or two from some of the best elementary school students here in Illinois. pic.twitter.com/bLRfm1r6aJ
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) August 29, 2025
Pritzker posted a video of himself at an elementary school Friday, where he pointed to classroom rules that “leaders in Washington ought to learn.”
He specifically cited “Listen carefully,” “Treat each other with respect” and “Make good decisions.”
But in a takedown posted on her Libs of TikTok accounts, social-media influencer Chaya Raichik pointed out that the students in that classroom may not have been able to read the rules at all.
Not a single student can read at grade level in 30 Illinois schools. https://t.co/3XwfA0XOdi pic.twitter.com/xrs3AinYom
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 29, 2025
As of 2022, there were 30 schools where not a single student was able to meet grade-level literacy standards, the post noted, citing data from the state Board of Education’s Illinois Report Card.
Many of the schools were located in Chicago, where President Donald Trump has floated the possibility of sending in the National Guard to clear up a rampant crime epidemic.
Pritzker, a billionaire scion of the Hyatt hotel chain family, complained that his state lacked the necessary federal funding to bring law and order to the city.
“He’s defunding our efforts to fight crime so that he can send troops into the city of Chicago for one reason. It’s about the elections in 2026 and about interrupting our ability to have a fair and free election,” Pritzker claimed, without evidence.
JB Pritzker: “He’s defunding our efforts to fight crime so that he can send troops into the city of Chicago for one reason. It’s about the elections in 2026 and about interrupting our ability to have a fair and free election. It’s for that purpose and not about fighting crime.” pic.twitter.com/x5nIhnysoK
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) August 29, 2025
Pritzker, meanwhile, has put a possible redistricting battle at the top of his priority list.
After Texas announced its plans to redraw maps and secure more favorable red districts, Texas Democrats were widely mocked for seeking refuge in Illinois, which includes some of the most egregiously gerrymandered districts in the nation.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
