Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker greets supporters. | JB Pritzker/Facebook
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker greets supporters. | JB Pritzker/Facebook
Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois reserved a special mention in his State of the State Address Feb. 15 to blast what he called “demagogues who are pushing censorship."
Recently, Pritzker and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have shared disagreements around educational advancement in the Black community.
While Pritzker didn't mention DeSantis by name, the attack is the latest in an ongoing feud between the two governors over DeSantis blocking an advanced placement course on black studies from Florida’s school curriculum, according to Politico.
In a gathering at the Illinois state Capitol, Pritzker made an announcement to the Illinois General Assembly for the first live address since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“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,” Pritzker said. “This has been done in the past, and it doesn’t stop with just snuffing out ideas.”
DeSantis shared that he is willing to take drastic measures by removing advanced placement academia in addition to critical race theory, Politico reported.
The Florida governor recently signed into law the “Stop W.O.K.E Act,” which prohibits the teaching of critical race theory in Florida schools. More recently, he has doubled down on the issue, going as far as to threaten to withdraw state support for AP programs.
DeSantis is expected by many to enter the Republican primary and face former President Donald Trump. Pritzker has repeatedly said he will support President Joe Biden for president, though many believe he is considering a run of his own.
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